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Elev8 Parent Mentor Program at Ames Middle School Chicago:

eric@smittyimage.comGloria Bedillo had never served as a school volunteer before, or thought of herself as a leader. But within XX months of the day her daughter enrolled at Logan Square’s Ames Middle, all that changed. Suddenly Bedillo found herself serving as a classroom assistant, a family book group leader, a truant outreach worker, a member of the local school council, and chair of the school’s No Child Left Behind Committee. REACTION FROM HER—IS SHE SURPRISED? While Bedillo is one of the more active parents at Ames, she is hardly unusual. Inner-city schools often bemoan the lack of parental involvement, but Ames has it in spades: 20 parents are volunteering or working for modest wages at the school almost daily at a variety of jobs through Logan Square Neighborhood Association’s Parent Mentor Program. “It’s an enhancement to everything we do,” said Ames Principal Thomas Hoffman who credits the program’s parent truancy outreach workers for helping to raise the school’s average daily attendance rate more than two percentage points in the past two years. LSNA launched the Parent Mentor Program in 1995 as a way to give parents, mainly Hispanic women, the skills and confidence to get more involved in their children’s education. Since then, the program has trained more than 1,300 parents at nine neighborhood elementary schools as classroom mentors for struggling students.But learning how to assist students and school staff is just the beginning. Parent mentors are encouraged to become leaders in their schools and politically active in their communities. And they are urged to pursue personal goals, such as finding employment or pursuing further education. Many have gone on to take ESL or GED classes offered at Ames and four other Logan Square elementary schools.Maria Marquez, a former parent mentor who now coordinates that program at Ames, went even further. She enrolled in LSNA's “Grow Your Own” program which helps Logan Square residents earn undergraduate degrees in education and land jobs in Chicago Public Schools, helping to alleviate the bilingual teacher shortage. More than 20 other parent mentors have done likewise. “Had it had it not been for the Parent Mentor Program I would not be going to Northeastern [University],” she said.For Bedillo, joining the program was no less transformative. As a former substance abuse counselor with an associates degree in social services, she had always enjoyed helping people. BUT OUTSIDE HER CIRCLE?, she had been hesitant to speak her mind. “She was kind of quiet when she first started, not wanting to say a lot,” Marquez recalled.But in the safety of the parent mentor group—LSNA trained a dozen this fall—she began to speak up, said Marquez. “She's a little bit more confident about her opinions.”During one meeting, when a mother complained that her son was unable to get reduced city bus fare because he couldn't prove he went to Ames, Bedillo volunteered to ask the principal about providing student IDs. The principal agreed to do so. WHAT MADE HER DECIDE TO DO THAT.The other mothers were impressed, said Marquez. Later, when she asked for volunteers for the school’s No Child Left Behind Advisory Committee, they quickly nominated Bedillo as chair, said Marquez.“I was like 'Me?' Bedillo recalls. “They were like, 'Yes, you.'”Bedillo, a friendly woman with a ready smile, initially signed-up as a parent mentor because of concerns about school safety, which provided to be unfounded, she said. But that first step was a gateway. “The more I get involved with my daughters school,” she said, “the more I want to be involved.”Her sudden interest surprised her daughter, Jaileen Martinez. “I was shocked about it. I just thought of my mom as a house mom.” The 7th-grader was also worried. “I was kind of scared because I thought she would embarrass me,” Jaileen acknowledged. But she needn't have worried. Her friends thought Bedillo was cool. “When they see me they're like, 'Where's your mom?'” And rather than embarrassed by her mother's involvement at the school, Jaileen found herself impressed. “She's so into it. Her trying to help somebody makes me want to do the same. She motivates me.”Parents in neighborhoods like Logan Square often don't realize how eager schools are for their participation, said Marquez. That's especially true for those immigrating from Mexico or other Central American countries, she explained.In Mexico, parents don’t ever question the teacher or principal, said Marquez. “You can't come into the classroom because it’s invading their domain.”But the parent mentor training makes it clear how much they are valued, not only by recruiting them to serve in a variety of additional roles—safety patrol, truancy outreach, after school tutorCK—but by building their confidence. Before parents step foot in the classroom, they get two weeks of training on the school's math and reading curriculum and also on personal development and leadership. The training continues for two hours a week throughout the school year. Parents without degrees often imagine they don’t have much to offer the school, said Leticia Barerra, another Parent Mentor alumna who now manages the program for LSNA. When parents realize they have lots of skills and talents they can offer to the school, they feel important and useful.” CAN BEDILLO COMMENT ON HER EXPERIENCE?Parents also need to know they have the right to speak up to authority, she said, whether to the principal, the alderman or their state representatives. “They didn't realize how much power they could have,” Barerra explains. “As soon as they know, they start making phone calls.” During last school year's training, a group of mothers suddenly decided to visit the alderman and demand traffic-calming measures around the school: They got their way. After this year's initial training, parents spontaneously teamed up to go door to door to encourage their neighbors to vote. ASK BEDILLO ABOUT THIS.HOW MANY TIMES THIS YEAR, past and present parent mentors have hopped on a bus to Springfield to lobby legislators on immigration reform. NEED A LITTLE MORE HERE“We're speaking out and being heard and not being afraid,” Bedillo said. “We're not just parents now. Were being heard as a group and working together.”After that, came back and was speaking more passionately.Gloria already had associates degree. Benefits mothers as much as students. many gone on to get bachelors degrees and become teachers in the community. Feeds into Grow Your Own,HeadBedillo said she initially decided to join the mentor because her daughter, a 7th-grader, was nervous about attending the new school which she heard had a lot of fighting and bullying, rumors that later proved to be unfounded. Parents receive xx hours of training over xx weeks before they are each assigned to a classrooms two hours a day Monday through Thursday. Bedillo assigned to a math class and then a science class, helps all students but particularly those who are still learning English. QUOTE FROM TEACHER ABOUT WHY THIS IS HELPFULIdea is to make parents realize that they can be part of school. in mexico, not welcome.Bedillo is from Puerto Rico, immigrated to Chicago at three and grew up in Spanish-speaking household. Graduated from St. Augustine college with an associates degree in social services and worked as a substance abuse counselor until 2008. Never been active in school before. When her daughter went to Nixon, didn’t have those opportunities. NEED TRANSITION.Comfort of group, started speaking up. went to principal. Got ids. Then chosen for no child left behind, also on local school counsel.now that I got involved as a parent mentor at my ds school ive felt the need to get more inv and more invRecruited to do extra work for modest hourly wage. Part of elev8 programs. Ames part of elev8 program, extra funds to do truant outreach—phones disconnected and many parents don’t realize kids not in school. money also for literacy ambassadors.Recently she and her daughter visited another neighbor and read about seeds. Youngest participant in 5th grade, the oldest his grandmother. Xx said bedillo’s daughter, who also went along.Role models for their kidsBedillo’s daughter said she was worried when her mother was going to volunteer, meant they would walk to school together each morning. thought she was going to embarrass me. Surprised to find that her friends thought her mom was actually pretty cool. Now she’s motivated. Also part of the Elev8 program where afterschool tutoring raised her math grade c TO A. mother also able to help out more, with parent mentor traning. huge confidence boost. Set her sites on selective high school marine biology. mother as an inspiration.The award-winning program was launched xx years ago and now operates at nine neighborhood schools including Ames. Since its founding, LSNA has trained over xx parents to mentor struggling students in the classroom. But mentorship is just the beginning. The program trains parents, mainly Hispanic women, to become leaders in their schools and politically active in their communities. It also recruits them to serve in a variety of additional roles at the school from safety patrol to neighborhood book group leader.Gloria quotesThe more I get involved with my daughters school the more I want to participate, the more I want to be involved.Speaking out. To the needs that I see that we need. And not being afraid. Speakingout and being heard. Safe place to do that. I see solutions and bepeople workingwith it. We'rebeingheard. Wer'not just parents now. Were beingheard as a group and working together.encouraging them to become leaders in their schools and politically active in their communities.

 

If you want to help pay for more shoots, see the about section. I can afford another 2 shoots this year. Maybe if we raise enough, we could talk Sarah into a video? Even a dollar or two helps. If you want to hire Sarah to co-star with you in a photo shoot, that's possible too. There are some other options too, like being a secondary photographer at a shoot or even as an in person spectator.

 

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Sun Group introduced the second generation of Digital Tag featuring a new battery Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours.

The wearable Digital TAG Video Name Tag SUN-SG824, just the size of a business card, that delivers your message through

professional video content. Attractive promotional in-store marketing that can be easily and frequently updated to meet YOUR

current needs. How do you capture the attention of TODAY’s customer?

Digital TAG is an eye-catching, hip and superior way of getting your message out to your clientele – in a way they are used to

seeing information: fast, attractive, state of the art. The content displayed on digital signage screens can range from simple text

and still images to full-motion video, with or without audio.

  

Digital TAG is used for many purposes:

Informational

Deliver a message through professional video content

In store promotion to Uplift Sales

Medium for Advertising by Third Parties

Enhanced Customer Experience - decrease perceived wait times!

Influencing Customer Behavior - direct customers to other areas of the store and increase dwelltime

Premium Corporate Give Aways

Gifts

Point of Sale Advertising

New Product Announcements

Retail Level

Employee Orientation

Training

Job Fairs

Conventions

Social events

 

Specifications:

• Display Screen Size: 2.4 inch

• Platforms: Standalone

• Formats: AVI and JPEG

• Plays MP3 and WMA Audio files

• Multimedia player with built in speakers

• Support Mini TF card Capacity up to 4GB (TF card not included)

• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels

• Storage Capacity: 2 GB flash

• Build in Memory: 256MB flash memory

• Connectivity Input: Mini USB

• Size: 70W x 51H x 13.5D (mm)

• Weight: Around 69 gram

• Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours

• Battery: Built-in Rechargeable Li-ion Battery

• Shirt-Clip (Magnet) doesn't ruin clothing

• sgmonitor.com

• Lanyard Holder Can be used as both horizontal and vertical

• USB Cable (Power Recharge/Content Change)

• USB AC Power Charger 110V-240V - DC 5V

 

Average Portuguese people on the streets celebrating the Euro 2012

Portugal Portuguese people Football fans Euro.

Portuguese people celebrating Football match and cheering up for Portugal's team.

Average temperature - New Year's Eve, USA

Namchi (Nepali : नाम्ची) or Namtse is the capital of the South Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Namchi is located at 27.17°N 88.35°E. It has an average elevation of 1,315 metres.

 

Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m above sea level. It is situated at a distance of 78 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok and 100 kilometres from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang. Namchi is well connected to other towns in Sikkim and West Bengal. Jeeps and buses regularly ply between Namchi to Gangtok, Pelling, Jorethang, Kalimpong and Siliguri.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of 2011 India census, Namchi has a population of 12194. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Namchi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Namchi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most of the people of Namchi are Hindus and Buddhists. Languages spoken are Nepali, English and Hindi.

 

EDUCATION

Namchi has more than half a dozen private schools with quality education (Mt. Carmel School, Namchi Public School, Tendong Educational Institute, Victory Educational Institute, New Light Academy etc.) and government Higher Secondary Schools for Boys and Girls and world valid computer institute (MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER INSTITUTE) an authorized study center of Manipal Group. Just few kilometers away from the town is a reputed Government College for Arts and Education. People give a lot of importance and focus on education with a reverence. Namchi Public School run by catholic missionaries is one of the respected educational institute in the State and one of the best in the south district of Sikkim.

 

TOURISM

Namchi is fast becoming a major tourist spot and pilgrimage centre. The Namchi monastery, Ralong monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centres. The world's largest statue (36 m) of the Buddhist Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim, is on the Samdruptse hill (The Wish Fulfilling Well) opposite Namchi. It was completed in February 2004. It is also said that the Samdruptse hill is actually a Dormant Volcano. Myths say that the buddhist monks have been going on top of the hill and offering prayers to the volcano to keep it calm. There is also a Rock Garden just few kilometers up from the town on the way to Samdruptse. Sikkim Best Home Stay Dong Busty Home Stay just 8km away from Namchi Bazar. The Rock Garden displays a wide variety of Flora and is a local recreation and picnic spot. It offers a magnificent view of Mt. Kanchendzonga (aka Mt. Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak). Recently inaugurated (November 2011) Siddhesvara Dham is a unique pilgrimage tourism venture of the Sikkim Government developed as “Pilgrim cum Cultural Centre” having a 26,52 m statue of Lord Shiva and replicas of four Dhams of the country at one place at Solophok hilltop in Namchi. The four most revered Dhams of the Hindus Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees and tourists. The dream project of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling which was conceived by him and started in the year 2005 stands promisingly amidst the breadth taking surrounding of Solophok hill, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhams. For the consecration of the Dham Shri Jagadguru Sankaryacharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati in the presence of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling and his wife Smt Tika Maya Chamling did the “Pran Prastisha” of the Dham. There are replicas of the “Dwadash Jyotirlingas” (the twelve jyothirlinga) of Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleswar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Viswanath, Triambakeshwar, Vaidyanath, Nageswar, Rameshwar at Rameswaram and Grishneshwar surrounding the statue of Lord Shiva and the Char Dhams. There is a grand statue of Kirateshvar Mahadev and a temple of Shirdi Sai Baba too. One can have a view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, Statue of Guru Padmasambhava at Samdruptse, Darjeeling and other such locations from here. The Dham has stay facility for the devotees at “Yatri Niwas” which can accommodate more than 90 people at a time. The Dham has won the National Tourism Awards 2010–11 under the category of “Most Innovative/Unique Tourism Project” by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. A helipad is located 5 km away from town at an altitude of around 1524 m. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Mt. Kanchanzonga with the surrounding mountain a part of Darjeeling Kalimgpong and the rolling plains of Bengal. The visitors can savour the view of temi tea garden the one and the only tea estate in the state which produces top quality tea in the international market.

 

Near the town, Sikkim's sole tea estate — the Temi Tea Garden is situated. The tea carries a premium the world over and costs around Rs. 800/- a kg. The tea is marked by its exotic odour and flavour.

 

In the month of February, the Namchi garden hosts it annual flower show. The flower show is the largest in Sikkim with flowers in a riot of colours. The prime attraction of this show is the display of exotic and rare orchids.

 

One of the highlights of the town is the football stadium – the Baichung Stadium built by the Sikkimese government in honour of its most famous citizen, footballer Baichung Bhutia. "The Gold Cup" football tournament is held in Bhaichung Stadium almost every year. Football teams from all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan vie for the honour which draws lot of crowds from all over Sikkim. Namchi is also the base of the chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling.

 

Historically, Namchi was the place where Pende Ongmoo, the trecherous princess who poisoned one of the Chogyals of Sikkim, was caught and killed for her deed. Legend says her spirit still haunts the foothills of Ghurpisey.

 

WIKIPEDIA

The Average Joes in training for the next big Dodge Ball match. Fortunately - no flying wrenches today.

The Bay to Breakers is an annual foot race across San Francisco - from the Bay on the East Side to the Ocean on the West Side (ending at the Breaker Walls). Running since 1906, it peaked at 110,000 participants in 1986. While there is a serious race with prizes, most run it for fun in costume.

©2023 Brian G Fitzgerald; Contact Brian@biker1337.com

The iPhone 'cinema display'-style stand is new, and I love it. I might get another one as they're quite cheap. Really very good.

 

I never work without my companion cube plushie.

Montparnasse Bienvenüe 24/04/2012 11h03

The moving walkways of this station are the longest (185 meters) of the system and connects line 6 and 13 with line 4 and 12. On an average day over 110,000 people are using this corridor.

 

Montparnasse-Bienvenüe

This is a station of the Paris Métro which is a transfer point between lines 4, 6, 12 and 13. It is the third-busiest station on the metro system in Montparnasse at the intersection of the 6th, 14th and 15th arrondissements.

On 24 April 1906 the station opened as Montparnasse station in the Avenue du Maine at the southern end of the old Gare Montparnasse (at the site currently occupied by the Tour Montparnasse, before it was moved south of the Avenue du Maine in the 1960s) with the opening of the extension of line 2 Sud from Passy to Place d'Italie. On 14 October 1907 line 2 Sud became part of line 5. On 11 March 1910 the Montparnasse station was renamed Avenue du Maine and on 30 June 1933 it was renamed Bienvenüe in honour of the principal engineer of the Paris Métro, Fulgence Bienvenüe (accounting for the unusual diaeresis in the station's name). On 12 October 1942 the section of line 5 between Étoile and Place d'Italie, including Bienvenüe was transferred from line 5 to line 6 in order to separate the underground and elevated sections of the metro (because the latter were more vulnerable to air attack during World War II).

The line 4 platforms opened as Montparnasse in the Boulevard du Montparnasse, near the main entrance of the old Gare Montparnasse (on its northern side) on 9 January 1910 as part of the connecting section of the line under the Seine between Châtelet and Raspail. The line 12 platforms were opened in the Boulevard du Montparnasse on 5 November 1910 as part of the first section of the Nord-Sud Company's line C from Porte de Versailles to Notre-Dame-de-Lorette. This line was taken over by the Compagnie du chemin de fer métropolitain de Paris and was renamed line 12 on 27 March 1931. In 1913 a connection was opened between the platforms of lines 4 and line 12 situated on the Boulevard du Montparnasse, both called Montparnasse.

The line 13 platforms opened in the Avenue du Maine as Bienvenüe on 21 January 1937 as part of the original line 14 between Bienvenüe and Porte de Vanves and was connected to the line 5 platforms. This line became part of line 13 on 9 November 1976.

 

At the end of the 1930s, a long corridor was built to connect the Montparnasse and Bienvenüe stations. Accordingly, the stations' names were fused to create the one now known as Montparnasse-Bienvenüe on 6 October 1942. This long corridor is now equipped with moving sidewalks to facilitate access between the two parts of the Métro station. The old Bienvenüe station serves lines 6 and 13, while the old Montparnasse station serves lines 4 and 12.

 

In 2002, in an experimental move, the RATP installed a moving walkway that moved at 12 km/h, which was then termed the "fastest in the world." (The speed has however been reduced to 9 km/h afterwards). The first several metres consist of metal rollers that accelerate passengers as they hold onto the handrail, because it would be dangerous to step directly onto the fast-moving conveyor. However, RATP announced in May 2009 that they would replace the walkway with an ordinary one in March 2011 in response to 'numerous customer complaints concerning safety and unreliability'.

[ Source and more information: Wikipedia - Montparnasse-Bienvenüe ]

 

(Code de la station: 0408)

This is the average photo I took in India.

 

I created a short Processing script to take each of photos in a directory and create the average photo.

 

This image is the result of averaging about 50 medium format photographs taken over a 3 week trip in India.

 

Also seen on my Tumblr.

 

Portfolio | Blog

LAKE KIVU

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Lake Kivu

 

Coordinates 2°0′S 29°0′ECoordinates: 2°0′S 29°0′E

Type Rift Valley lakes, Meromictic

Primary outflows Ruzizi River

Catchment area 2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi)

Basin countries Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Max. length 89 km (55 mi)[1]

Max. width 48 km (30 mi)[1]

Surface area 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi)[1]

Average depth 240 m (787 ft)

Max. depth 480 m (1,575 ft)

Water volume 500 km3 (120 cu mi)

Surface elevation 1,460 m (4,790 ft)

Islands Idjwi

Settlements Goma, Congo

Bukavu, Congo

Kibuye, Rwanda

Cyangugu, Rwanda

Lake Kivu with Goma in the background

 

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. The name comes from kivu which means "lake" in some Bantu languages, just like the words tanganyika or nyanza.[citation needed]

 

Contents

 

1 History

2 Geography

3 Chemistry

3.1 Methane extraction

4 Biology and fisheries

5 See also

6 References

 

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

People on the shore at Gisenyi

 

The first European to visit the lake was German Count Adolf von Götzen in 1894. Since then it has been caught up in the conflict between Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda, and their allies in DR Congo, which led to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the First and Second Congo Wars. Lake Kivu gained notoriety as a place where many of the victims of the genocide were dumped.

Geography

 

The lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi) and stands at a height of 1,460 metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. Some 1 370 km2 or 58% of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 480 m (1,575 ft) is ranked eighteenth in the world.

 

The world's tenth-largest inland island, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu, as does the tiny island of Tshegera, which also lies within the boundaries of Virunga National Park; while settlements on its shore include Bukavu, Kabare, Kalehe, Sake, and Goma in Congo, and Gisenyi, Kibuye, and Cyangugu in Rwanda.

Chemistry

 

Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that experience limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists found evidence of massive biological extinctions about every thousand years, caused by outgassing events. The trigger for lake overturns in Lake Kivu's case is unknown, but volcanic activity is suspected. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake; in Lake Kivu's case, methane and carbon dioxide due to lake water interaction with a volcano. The amount of methane is estimated to be 65 cubic kilometers (if burnt over one year, it would give an average power of about 100 gigawatts for the whole period). There is also an estimated 256 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide. The water temperature is 24°C, and the pH level is about 8.6.[2] The methane is reported to be produced by microbial reduction of the volcanic CO2.[3] The risk from a possible Lake Kivu overturn is catastrophic, dwarfing other documented lake overturns at Lakes Nyos and Monoun, because of the approximately two million people living in the lake basin.

 

Cores from the Bukavu Bay area of the lake reveal that the bottom has layered deposits of the rare mineral monohydrocalcite interlain with diatoms, on top of sapropelic sediments with high pyrite content. These are found at three different intervals. The sapropelic layers are believed to be related to hydrothermal discharge and the diatoms to a bloom which reduced the carbon dioxide levels low enough to precipitiate monohydrocalcite.[4]

 

Scientists hypothesize that sufficient volcanic interaction with the lake's bottom water that has high gas concentrations would heat water, force the methane out of the water, spark a methane explosion, and trigger a nearly simultaneous release of carbon dioxide.[5][6] The carbon dioxide would then suffocate large numbers of people in the lake basin as the gases roll off the lake surface. It is also possible that the lake could spawn lake tsunamis as gas explodes out of it.[7][8]

 

The risk posed by Lake Kivu began to be understood during the analysis of more recent events at Lake Nyos. Lake Kivu's methane was originally thought to be merely a cheap natural resource for export, and for the generation of cheap power. Once the mechanisms that caused lake overturns began to be understood, so did awareness of the risk the lake posed to the local population.

 

An experimental vent pipe was installed at Lake Nyos in 2001 to remove gas from the deep water, but such a solution for the much larger Lake Kivu would be considerably more expensive. No plan has been initiated to reduce the risk posed by Lake Kivu.[dubious – discuss] The approximately 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the lake is a little under 2 percent of the amount released annually by human fossil fuel burning. Therefore the process of releasing it could potentially have costs beyond building and operating the system.

Methane extraction

Methane extraction platform.

 

Lake Kivu has recently been found to contain approximately 55 billion cubic metres (1.94 trillion cubic feet) of dissolved biogas at a depth of 300 metres (1,000 ft). Until 2004, extraction of the gas was done on a small scale, with the extracted gas being used to run boilers at a brewery, the Bralirwa brewery in Gisenyi.[9][10] As far as large-scale exploitation of this resource is concerned, the Rwandan government has negotiated with a number of parties to produce methane from the lake.

 

In 2011 ContourGlobal, a U.S. based energy company focused on emerging markets, secured project financing to initiate a large-scale methane extraction project. The project will be run through a local Rwandan entity called KivuWatt, using an offshore barge platform to extract, separate, and clean the gasses obtained from the lake bed before pumping purified methane via an underwater pipeline to on-shore gas engines. Stage one of the project aims to build and supply three "gensets" along the lake shore, totaling 25MW of electrical capacity. Initial project operations are scheduled to commence in 2012.[11] In addition to managing gas extraction, KivuWatt will also manage the electrical generation plants and on-sell the electrical power to the Rwandan government under the terms of a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This allows KivuWatt to control a vertically integrated energy offering from point of extraction to point of sale into the local grid. Extraction is said to be cost-effective and relatively simple because once the gas-rich water is pumped up, the dissolved gases (primarily carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and methane) begin to bubble out as the water pressure gets lower. This project is expected to increase Rwanda's energy generation capability by as much as 20 times, and will enable Rwanda to sell electricity to neighboring African countries.[10] The firm was awarded the 2011 Africa Power deal of the year for innovation in the financing arrangements it obtained from various sources for the KivuWatt project. [12] .[13]

 

A problem associated with the prevalence of methane is that of mazuku.

Biology and fisheries

Fishing boats on Lake Kivu, 2009.

Reflection of the sky on Lake Kivu

 

The fish fauna in Lake Kivu is relatively poor with 28 species, including four introduced species.[14] The natives are the Lake Rukwa minnow (Raiamas moorii), four species of Barbus (B. altianalis, B. apleurogramma, B. kerstenii and B. pellegrini), an Amphilius catfish, two Clarias catfish (C. liocephalus and C. gariepinus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and 15 endemic Haplochromis cichlids.[14] The introduced species are three cichlids, the longfin tilapia (Oreochromis macrochir), O. leucostictus and redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli), and a clupeid, the Lake Tanganyika sardine, Limnothrissa miodon.[14]

 

The exploitable stock of the Lake Tanganyika sardine was estimated at 2000–4000 tons per year.[15] It was introduced to Lake Kivu in the late 1959 by a Belgian Engineer A. Collart. At present, Lake Kivu is the sole natural lake in which L. miodon, a sardine originally restricted to Lake Tanganyika, has been introduced initially to fill an empty niche. Prior to the introduction, no planktivorous fish was present in the pelagic waters of Lake Kivu. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.[16]

 

Following this introduction, the sardine has gained substantial economic and nutritional importance for the lakeside human population but from an ecosystem standpoint, the introduction of planktivorous fish may result in important modifications of plankton community structure. Recent observations showed the disappearance during the last decades of a large grazer, Daphnia curvirostris, and the dominance of mesozooplankton community by three species of cyclopoid copepod: Thermocyclops consimilis, Mesocyclops aequatorialis and Tropocyclops confinis.[17][18]

 

The first comprehensive phytoplankton survey was released in 2006.[19] With an annual average chlorophyll a in the mixed layer of 2.2 mg m-3 and low nutrient levels in the euphotic zone, the lake is clearly oligotrophic. Diatoms are the dominant group in the lake, particularly during the dry season episodes of deep mixing. During the rainy season, the stratified water column, with high light and lower nutrient availability, favour dominance of cyanobacteria with high numbers of phototrophic picoplankton.[19][20][21][22] The actual primary production is 0.71 g C m-2 d-1 (~ 260 g C m-2 y-1).[23]

 

A study of evolutionary genetics showed that the cichlids from lakes in northern Virunga (e.g., Edward, George, Victoria) would have evolved in a "proto-lake Kivu", much older than the intense volcanic activity (20,000-25,000 years ago) which cut the connection.[24] The elevation of the mountains west of the lake (which is currently the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, one of the largest reserves of eastern lowland (or Grauer's) gorillas in the world), combined with the elevation of the eastern rift (located in eastern Rwanda) would be responsible for drainage of water from central Rwanda in the actual Lake Kivu. This concept of "proto-lake Kivu" was challenged by lack of consistent geological evidence,[25] although the cichlid's molecular clock suggests the existence of a lake much older than the commonly cited 15,000 years.

 

Lake Kivu is the home of four species of freshwater crab, including two non-endemics (Potamonautes lirrangensis and P. mutandensis) and two endemics (P. bourgaultae and P. idjwiensis).[26] Among Rift Valley lakes, Lake Tanganyika is the only other with endemic freshwater crabs.[26]

The Iconic Ford Power Live Event took Place at Brands Hatch to Celebrate The Blue Badged Ford Motor Company and their Iconic Cars From both the Past and The Present. From Escort Mexico's to Modern Ford Mustang GT'S there was Everything for the Ford Enthusiast to enjoy.

 

The Support Races Featured During the Day were also Full of Different Makes and Models of Ford Racing Cars From The Focus RS to the Ford Escort and the Iconic Sierra Cosworth and even the Iconic Enduro KA series was Present and with Drivers and Spectators Ready the Racing was about to begin.

 

Lets Turn to the Race Track and See what is the First Support Race to make it onto the Race track.

 

Champion Of Brands (Qualifying)

 

First up Champion of Brands and with Fast and High Speed Action from Thease Machines Lets See who took that all important People Position to Start the Race in P1.

 

In First Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Best Lap Time of 50.154 and a Top Speed of 86.70mph. Amazing work there Tom a truly Heroic and Brave Drive for Pole Position.

 

In Second Place was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Best Lap Time of 50.397 and a Top Speed of 86.28mph. Fantastic Work Niall Very Fast and Quick Driving.

 

In Third Place was (Colin Queen) in his Ray GR18 with a Best Lap Time of 50.399 and a Top Speed of 86.28mph. Another Incredible Driver in Colin Pushing Hard and Almost Taking Second Place from Niall. I think we are in for some Really Intense Racing but who will be Fast Enough to on Track to Take Victory?

 

Champion Of Brands (Race 1 Results)

 

After a Thrilling Battle that saw Tom Mills take Pole Position its time to find out who Won the Race and out of The Top Three Could Anyone else on the Grid Challenge them for a Spot on the Podium. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place and taking the Win was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Lap Time of 50.518 and an Average Speed of 77.40mph. Incredible work there Niall Beating back Tom to take Victory in the First Race and a Well Determined Drive to Secure it.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Lap Time of 50.706 and an Average Speed of 77.38mph. Amazing Drive there Tom Keeping up with Niall and a Fantastic Battle thought the entire Race too.

 

In Third Place was (Colin Queen) in his RAY GR18 with a Lap Time of 50.820 and an Average Speed of 77.32mph. A Great Victory for Third Place on the Podium Colin showing a Determined Drive and a lot of Bravery thought the Race.

 

What an Incredible First Race to Start out the Days Events and with Another Coming up Soon after is it possible for Another Competitor to take Victory and the Spotlight? Lets Take A Look.

 

Champion Of Brands (Race 2 Results)

 

Race 2 Up Next and The Final Time for Anyone Racing in Champion of Brands to Score Points and Take Victory in either First Second or Third Place. After a Thrilling End to Race 1 which Saw Tom Mills getting Beaten by Niall Murray it was time to see who could Once Again bring the Roar and Thunder Home for a Final Time.

 

In First Place was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Lap Time of 50.584 and an Average Speed of 84.84mph. Another Incredible Drive from Niall to once again take The Final Pole Position for Champion of Brands. Brilliant Drive there Niall.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Lap Time of 50.606 and an Average Speed of 84.47mph. Another Well Deserved Second Place for Tom Showing Incredible Car Control and Bravery Pushing the Limits on Every Corner to Keep up with Niall. Fantastic Drive Tom.

 

In Third Place was (Lucan Romenek) in his Van Diemen JL13 with a Lap Time of 50.927 and an Average Speed of 83.92mph. Very Well Done there Lucan Fantastic to see a New Driver take a Step onto the Podium and Celebrate the Victory.

 

What an Exciting Opening Day here at Brands Hatch for Ford Power Live with Champion of Brands Providing some Well Deserved Winners in Niall Tom Lucan and Colin. Well Done to all other Drivers taking Part and Continuing to Improve and do what it is that you Love. Keep Up the Momentum and Never Give Up Hope of One Day Making it to the Top Step of the Podium.

 

Lets See what Track Action is Next Up onto the Circuit as the Action Continues to Hot Up.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Qualifying)

 

Clubman Sports Prototypes were up next and thease Mad Looking Machines are known for their Supreme Aerodynamics as well as Insane Straight Line Speed. each Driver will have to be on the ball and Keeping their Machine under Constant Control as they will be Powering round this 1,2 mile Indy Circuit at Speeds of at Least 90mph.

 

Lets Look to the Track to see who Qualified where and see who will be starting the Race on Pole.

 

In First Place and taking Pole Position was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Best Lap Time of 47.146 and a Top Speed of 92.23mph. Amazing Drive there Steve Very Fast and Committed for Pole Position.

 

In Second Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Best Lap Time of 47.784 and a Top Speed of 91.00mph. Well Deserved there Clive Pushing that Mallock for all its worth and taking Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Alex Champkin) Mallock MK27 Synergy with a Best Lap Time of 48.129 and a Top Speed of 90.35mph. Very Well Done there Alex Taking Third Place and a Spirited Drive with it.

 

A Very Fast and Fierce set of Drivers Ready to take on the Indy Circuit. Lets Get Right Down to the Action for Race 1.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 1 Results)

 

After A Thrilling Battle in Qualifying Between Steve Clive and Alex which of them will be Poised and Ready to Attack on the Race Track to either Defend maintain or even potentially Loose their Positions to the other Drivers. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 48.076 and an Average Speed of 76.87mph. Incredible Driving there Steve Taking the Victory and the Spoils that come with it Amazing Work from you and The Entire Team.

 

In Second Place was (Alex Champkin) in his Mallock MK27 Synergy with a Lap Time of 47.515 and an Average Speed of 76.84mph. Another Super Drive by Alex to move him up into Second Place on the Podium. Fantastic Work and Driving Ability.

 

In Third Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Lap Time of 47.802 and an Average Speed of 76.81mph. Very Well Done there Clive Super Driving and an All Round Great Victory for Third Place.

 

An Exciting Opening Race for Clubman's with Steve Dickens taking Both Qualifying and the First Race Win. Can he Do it again For Race 2 or will the likes of Alex and Clive Hunt Him down and take that Victory away Stay Tuned to find out as We Go Racing Once Again.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 2 Results)

 

In First Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Lap Time of 47.475 and an Average Speed of 87.35mph.

 

In Second Place was (Pete Richings) in his Mallock MK30 PR with a Lap Time of 48.784 and an Average Speed of 86.84mph.

 

In Third Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 48.448 and an Average Speed of 86.63mph.

 

What an Exciting End to Race 2 with a New Winner in P2 being Pete Richings Well Done Pete Amazing work and a well deserved Podium Spot. Will Pete be able to Retain that Second Place or even Improve though as we head into the Final Round in Race 3.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 3 Results)

 

In First Place was (Pete Richings) in his Mallock MK30PR with a Lap Time of 48.218 and a Top Speed of 88.27mph. Incredible Driving Pete taking the Top Step of the Podium and the Race Win. A Truly Excellent Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 47.986 and an Average Speed of 88.17mph. Very Well Done again Steve Putting in a lot of Hard work to Reach Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 With a Lap Time of 47.883 and an Average Speed of 88.08mph. Another Amazing P3 for Clive with a lot of Strong Determination Behind the Wheel.

 

What a Race Weekend for the Clubman's with Many Different Victories and Winners in Clive Steve Pete and Alex all Looking to Fight it it on Track and take Home those Valuable Championship Winning Points. Well Done to all other Competitors as well Keep Pushing Hard and Making Memories that will Last Forever.

 

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Qualifying)

 

Now it was time for the Creative Solutions Sports 2000's to hit the Track and After a Thunderous Performance by the Classic Clubman's Lets see what thease Mean Machines Have to Offer. With Speeds once again Reaching Nearly 92mph thease cars are Monsters and Driving and Controlling One is going to be Very Challenging with all that Break Horse Power.

 

Lets take a Look at Qualifying and see which Drivers made it to the Front end of the Grid for Race 1.

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was ( Neil Burroughs) in his Gunn TS12 with a Best Lap Time of 47.202 and a Top Speed of 92.12mph. Fantastic work there Neil Once Again showing the Skill and Commitment Needed for a Championship Winning Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoten) in his Gunn TS11 with a Best Lap Time of 47.400 and A Top Speed of 91.74mph. Great Work there Tom a Well Controlled and Well Balanced Car on the Race Track to Take P2 on the Grid.

 

In Third Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Best Lap Time of 47.474 and a Top Speed of 91.59mph. Well Done Josh Really Amazing work to take P3 on the Grid for The Race.

 

What a Fantastic Qualifying Session with Battles Happening all over the Field but Neil Tom and Josh have made it into the Top Three and so Lets Find out in Race 1 which of them will be Taking Home Victory.

 

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 1)

 

In First Place and Taking Victory was (Tom Stoten) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 48.471 and an Average Speed of 62.75mph. Amazing Work Tom taking yourself from P2 in Qualifying to P1 and The First Race Win, Incredible Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 48.457 and an average Speed of 62.69mph. Fantastic Work Michel and a Really Strong Drive to take P2 in the Race. A Fantastic Drive.

 

In Third Place was (Giles Billingsley) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 49.321 and an Average Speed of 62.31mph. Awesome Work there Giles a Brilliant Drive to Get P3 and the Last Spot on the Podium.

 

What an Exciting First Race with Tom Stoden being the First Race Winner in Sports 2000. A Big Congratulations to Michel and Giles too for some Heroic Driving and their Further P2 and P3 Finishes. Lets Find out what Race 2 Brings us Next.

  

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 2)

 

After a Really Hectic First Race which saw Tom Stoden Take P1 followed by Michel Gibbins and Giles Billingsley it was Time for Race 2. Lets see if Anyone Else can Challenge these Almighty Three Drivers at the Front of the Field.

 

In First Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.878 and an Average Speed of 70.46mph. Incredible Drive for Joshua Taking P1 from Tom Stoden and Claiming his First Race Win of the Weekend. Amazing work Josh.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoden) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 48.409 and an Average Speed of 70.35mph. Another Very Confident and Fast Drive by Tom to Achieve Second Place showing Just How Talented and Brave of a Driver Tom is Fantastic Performance Tom.

 

In Third Place was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 48.395 and an Average Speed of 70.32mph. Really Good Drive there Michel Fantastic Car Control and a lot of Fast Race Pace. Well Done.

 

What Another Epic Race to Witness with a New Winner on the Top Step of the Podium being Joshua Law a Well Deserved Win from a Very Talented Driver. Amazing work to both Tom and Michel for their Respective P2 and P3 Finishes. With Race 3 Up Next who will be Taking Home that Final Pole Position of the Weekend for Sports 2000.

  

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 3)

 

The Final Round of the Day for the Sports 2000's and with Joshua Law Defending his People Position at the Front Will anyone be able to dethrone our New Race Winner. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place and Taking the Victory was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.479 and an Average Speed of 89.11mph. What a Drive Michel Taking P1 and the Final Race Win. Incredible Work.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoden) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 47.680 and an Average Speed of 88.95mph. Amazing work Once Again Tom Proving Just How Competitive This Racing Series for Drivers is.

 

In Third Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.938 and an Average Speed of 88.92mph. Great Work there Josh Really Good Drive in Taking P3.

 

What an Amazing Set of Races for the Sports 2000's with Many Different Victories for the likes of Joshua Tom Michel and Giles Drivers who Really Put the Pedal to the Metal when it really matters. Fantastic Work to all other Drivers on Track as well and Good Luck as the Season Continues.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Qualifying)

 

Next Up we take a Look to the Focus Cup Championship a Racing Series which Features the use of Ford Focus Road Cars Built to Racing Specifications. Thease Cars all Use The ZTEC 2.0 TDCI Engines and Have Proven to be Very Quick and also Very Twitchy when out Racing.

 

Lets Take a Look at Qualifying to see what Drivers Have made it to the Front of the Gird to start out the Days Racing.

 

In First Place taking Pole Position and The Fastest Lap was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 58.625 and a Top Speed of 74.17mph. Great Work there Simon Very Fast Driving while Keeping the Car on the Race Track to clock in a Perfect Lap of the Indy Circuit for P1.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 58.880 and a Top Speed of 73.85mph. Very Well Done there Scott with a Blisteringly Quick Lap To take P2 on the Grid for the First Race.

 

In Third Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 59.025 and a Top Speed of 73.67mph. Very Well Done Gary Pushing Hard and Making every Millie Second Count to take P3 on the grid.

 

Three Very Quick Drivers in Simon Scott and Gary all Looking to take that First Race Win. Which One of them Can Do it. Lets Find Out as Race 1 Begins.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Race 1)

 

In First Place and Taking Victory was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.725 and an Average Speed of 72.88mph. Congratulations Simon what an Epic Drive to Victory and a First Win of the Day for you. Very Well Done.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.776 and an Average Speed of 72.49mph. Amazing Work there Scott Well Driven and Controlled Thought the entire Race.

 

In Third Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.909 and an Average Speed of 72.39mph. Great Drive there Gary and A Brilliant Finish on the Podium in P3.

 

What an Exciting First Race for the Focus Cup showing Just How Fast thease Cars are and How Brave each Driver has to be to take Moves and Dive Bombs to work there way to the Front of the Grid. Lets See what Race 2 Brings and Can Simon Keep His Defence of P1.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Race 2)

 

In First Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.914 and an Average Speed of 68.78mph. Incredible Work there Gary taking P1 and The Race Win what a Fantastic start to the Weekend for Him.

 

In Second Place was (Richard Avis) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.506 and an Average Speed of 68.70mph. what a Drive there From Richard Fantastic to see a New Face in P2 on the Podium and a Well Deserved Victory in Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.283 and an Average Speed of 68.61mph. Very Well Done there Scott Pushing Hard and Making sure to Stay in the Top Three. Fantastic Drive.

 

Another Incredible Race with a Different Driver in Richard Avis taking Second Place with an Incredible Drive and Sheer Speed and Talent. Congratulations to both Gary and Scott as well for their Fantastic Finishes Too.

 

Now for Race 3 and its the Final Time to see who will be taking Home that Last P1 Victory for the Focus Cup Championship.

  

Focus Cup Championship (Race 3)

 

In First Place was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.228 and an Average Speed of 71.60mph. Amazing Work as Usual Scott putting in One Final Flying Run to Gain Another Race Victory. Great Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.972 and an Average Speed of 70.23mph. Another Really Impressive Drive by Scott to take P2 in the Final Race for The Focus Cup.

 

In Third Place was (Rob Gaffney) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.238 and an Average Speed of 70.19mph. Very Well Done Indeed Rob Finishing P3 and taking his First Podium of the Weekend. Phenomenal Drive.

 

What an Amazing End to the Focus Cup Championship at Brands Hatch with Many Different Victories for Simon Scott Rob and Gary who all Drove out of their Skin and showed Phenomenal Car Control and Ability to Drive. Fantastic Work to all the other Drivers too Keep Working Hard and Most Important of All Enjoy what you Love Doing.

 

MSVR Elise Trophy (Qualifying)

 

Next Up is the MSR Elise Trophy

with the Focus of this Race being on the Lotus Elise S1 S2 and S3 with Just One Qualifying Session and Just 1 Race This will be A Test of Will Power and Determination on the Track to see who can Take Victory.

 

First Lets look to Qualifying and See who will be Starting on the Front Row.

 

In First Place taking the Pole and Fastest Lap was (Maurizio Sciglio) in his Lotus Elise S2 with a Best Lap Time of 53.544 and a Top Speed of 81.21mph. Fantastic work there Maurizio to take P1 and start o the Front Row of the Grid.

 

In Second Place was (Jason Mcinulty) in his Lotus Elise S3 with a Best Lap Time of 53.914 and a Top Speed of 80.65mph. Very Well Done there Jason Putting in one Hell of a Quick Time to Gain P2 on the Grid.

 

In Third Place was (Simon Walsh) in his Lotus Elise S2 111R with a Best Lap Time of 54.076 and a Top Speed of 80.41mph. Incredible Drive from Simon to put Himself in P3.

 

With Three Very Quick Drivers in Maurizio Jason and Simon it was Time to see if Anyone Could challenge them and Win the Only Race of the Day for the Lotus Elise Trophy.

 

MSVR Elise Trophy (Race 1)

 

In First Place taking The Victory was (Jason Mcinulty) in his Lotus Elise S3 with a Lap Time of 54.638 and an Average Speed of 66.83mph. Fantastic Victory for Jason taking P1 and The Race Win for the Elise Trophy. Phenomenal Driving too.

 

In Second Place was (John Lamaster) in his Lotus Elise S2 135R with a Lap Time of 54.781 and an Average Speed of 66.75mph. Fantastic work John and So Great to see a New Face on the Podium Taking P2 what an Incredible Driver.

 

In Third Place was (David Alexander) in his Lotus Elise S1 with a Lap Time of 55.589 and an Average Speed of 66.62mph. Very Well Driven Dave Keeping an Eye out all over the Place and Bringing Home a Superb P3 Finish.

 

A Brilliant Race for the Elise Trophy and Victories for Jason John and David as well as Maurizio and Simon for their Heroic Efforts in Qualifying. Congratulations to Jason on the Race Win and Good Luck to all other Drivers in this Series.

 

Modified Ford Series (Qualifying Group A)

 

Now it was Time to head Back to the Blue Badged Ford Machines Once again as the Modified Ford Series Rolled out onto the Race Track with each car being Heavily Modified from their Road Counterparts. With Escort Cosworth's and RS200's Roaring and Ready to go it was Time to see what the First Group A set of Drivers could do in Qualifying.

 

Due to how large the Grids were and the Fact that both Group A and Group B Have Different Races I will only be putting up results from both Qualifying Sessions from Group A and Group B. I will Leave a Link Below each Qualifying Session so you can Get All the Race Result's and Action from the 4 Different Races.

  

Modified Ford Series (Qualifying Group A)

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was (David Cockell) in his Ford Escort Cosworth with a Best Lap Time of 49.872 and a Top Speed of 87.19mph. Very Well Done David Keeping that Escort on the Track Must Have Taken some Practice no Doubt Amazing work on Getting Pole.

 

In Second Place was (Wayne Crabtree) in his Ford RS200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.121 and a Top Speed of 85.06mph. Very Fast Drive from Wayne to take P2 and a Very Solid Drive Thought.

 

In Third Place was (Michael Saunders) in his Ford Escort MK1 Mexico with a Best Lap Time of 51.129 and an Average Speed of 85.05mph. Very Well Driven by Michael Being Able to Keep up with Both Wayne and David Must Have Ben a Real Pain but what a Fantastic Achievement.

 

What a Fantastic Set of Legendary Drivers all Battle Hardened and Ready to take on the Might of the Indy Circuit. But there can Only be One Winner who do you Think will Win the First Race? Click the Link Below to get all of the Race Results from this Racing Series.

 

(Link to Group A Race Results)

 

www.tsl-timing.com/Event/213751

 

Modified Ford Series Group B (Qualifying)

 

Now it was Time for Group B to make a stance and see what their Modified Ford Racing Machines could do. with How Fast and Action Packed Group A Had Been During both The Races and Qualifying Group B was looking to be much the Same.

 

Lets Waste No Time in Finding out who Has Taken Pole Position for the First of 4 Races.

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and The Fastest Lap was (Neil Jessop) in his Ford Escort MK2 with a Best Lap Time of 52.030 and a Top Speed of 83.57mph. Fantastic Work there Neil and a Really Quick Escort to match too. Very Well Done.

 

In Second Place was (James Harris) in his Ford Escort MK2 with a Best Lap Time of 53.928 and a Top Speed of 80.63mph. Amazing work there James Pushing Hard and Giving the Old Girl everything she has to offer.

 

In Third Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK1 with a Best Lap Time of 54.892 and a Top Speed of 79.22mph. Awesome Drive there from Malcom Overcoming a lot of Pressure to put in an Incredible Lap for P3.

 

What an Amazing Line up for Group B with Plenty of Experienced Drivers who know their cars inside out. But who will be Brave Enough to challenge the Top Three Drivers for Victory. Find out for Yourself at the Link Below.

 

(Link to Group B Race Results)

 

www.tsl-timing.com/Event/213751

 

Enduro KA (Qualifying)

 

The Final Qualifying Session of the Day Had Come and its the Enduro KA'S. with all of the Cars on the Grid being Models of the Popular Ford KA made Between 1998-2009 thease Cars were Fun City cars that could get you from A to B with Ease. They were Also Build on a tight budget meaning that Handling Performance and Comfort were a Big Selling point of thease Brilliant little cars.

 

The Racing Versions seen here in the pictures however are built for Racing. they use different tyres but still the same Legendary 1.3 Dura Tec Engine found in their Road Going Counterparts.

 

Lets Take a look at Qualifying and see which KA and Driver made it to the top step of the podium.

 

Enduro KA (Qualifying)

 

In First Place taking the Pole and Fastest Lap was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.495 and a Top Speed of 68.48mph. Fantastic Work Adam and Martyn Really Pushing the Car for all its worth.

 

In Second Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.713 and a Top Speed of 68.25mph. Fantastic Drive there from Both Alex and Chris Claiming P2.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.921 and a Top Speed of 68.03mph. Very Well Done there Matt Great Drive and Awesome Car Control.

 

Three Very Quick and Determined Teams and with 4 Races to Race in this will be a Very Close and Tight Battles Between all Teams and Drivers. Skill and Talent will be crucial to survival and Who will be able to take the First Victory of Race 1. Lets Find Out.

 

Enduro KA (Race 1 Results)

 

In First Place Taking the Victory was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.688 and an Average Speed of 67.95mph. Congratulations Both Alex and Luke on a Superb Race Victory and Well Done to hold off the Pressure from the other Competitors.

 

In Second Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.416 and an Average Speed of 67.92mph. Very Well Done to both Adam and Martyn for that Amazing P2 Finish.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:03.664 and an Average Speed of 67.79mph. Incredible Work there Matt Amazing Drive and a Really Super Looking Car.

 

An Exciting Opening Race for the Enduro KA Series with Three Different Teams on the Podium in Alex Reade Motorsport Octane Junkies and Fat Boys Racing. Amazing work to all of you Now Lets see what Action Race 2 Brings and whether or not Alex Reade Motorsport can Hold onto that 1st Place.

 

Enduro KA (Race 2 Results)

 

In First Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.557 and an Average Speed of 67.94mph. Another Incredible Drive from both the likes of Alex and Luke to Keep their P1 Finish From the First Race. Amazing Work.

 

In Second Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.621 and an Average Speed of 67.90mph. Fantastic Work Once Again to the likes of Adam and Martyn Another Set of Drivers Keeping their Second Place Finish.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:04.005 and an Average Speed of 67.39mph. Well Done once again Matt Perfect Driving and a Well Balanced Car out there.

 

Looks like the Top Three Remain the Same even After Two Races but will Race 3 Bring a New Twist to the Current Driver and Team Standings. Lets Find Out.

 

Enduro KA (Race 3 Results)

 

In First Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.849 and an Average Speed of 67.57mph. Amazing Work there Adam and Martyn managing to topple the likes of Alex and Luke to Earn P1.

 

In Second Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:03.584 and an Average Speed of 67.51mph. Well Done there Matt Improving up to P2 and Taking Home a Well Deserved Finish in the Standings for Race 3.

 

In Third Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.606 and an Average Speed of 67.44mph. Very Good Come Back Drive for Both Luke and Ale to Finish Third Great Driving.

 

Many Twists and Turns Have Benn brought into Race 3 with the Top Three Drivers now being Shuffled Around the Gird into different Positions. With One More Race to Go who will be The Last Driver of the Day on the Top Step of the Podium.

 

Enduro KA (Race 4 Results)

 

In First Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.442 and an Average Speed of 67.82mph. An Amazing Final Win for the Day to Octane Junkies Adam and Martyn Smith Congratulations and Very Well Driven.

 

In Second Place was (Piston Heads Peter Dignan) with a Lap Time of 1:03.781 and an Average Speed of 67.54mph. Incredible work there Peter Getting P2 and Standing on the Podium and Incredible Achievement.

 

In Third Place was (IP Racing Oliver Wilmot and Scott Parkin) with a Lap Time of 1:03.710 and an Average Speed of 67.47mph. Very Well Done to both Scott and Oliver on that Fantastic P3 Achievement. Something Very Special to Remember for both of you.

 

And With that The Days Racing at Brands Hatches Ford Power Live comes to an End and what an Incredible Array of Both Cars Teams and Drivers on Display Today. A Big Congratulations to the likes of Adam Martyn Luke Chris Peter Matt Oliver and Scott for their Incredible Achievements and All Other Drivers Keeping the World Of Motorsport Alive and Well.

 

Keep Working Hard everyone Else. Your Time Will Come.

 

See You All Again Next Year!!!!

Flammulina velutipes (Curtis) Singer

Velvet Shank, DE: Gemeiner Samtfussrübling, Gewonlicher Samtfüssrubling

Slo.: zimska panjevka

 

Dat.: Nov. 28. 2014

Lat.: 46.36066 Long.: 13.70907

Code: Bot_851/2014_DSC4924

 

Habitat: at the bottom of alpine valley, sawmill depot, next to the main road, flat terrain, full sun, humid place next to a river, exposed to direct rain, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 7 - 9 deg C, elevation 550 m (1.800 feet), alpine phytogeographical region.

 

Substratum: a big log of Juglans regia lying on ground in a pile of timber in a sawmill depot.

 

Place: Lower Trenta valley, between villages Soča and Trenta, sawmill Otokar, Trenta 4, East Julian Alps, Posočje, Slovenia EC

 

Comments: Flammulina velutipes is a striking fungus in several senses in spite of the fact that it is a widespread, common and easy to recognize. First, it is very beautiful mushroom displaying a vibrant contrast between its like fire orange, shiny and half translucent hut and deep black velvety stipe. Its rich colors exemplify an eye-catching contrast to often dull gray-brown mood of late autumn and winter nature in my country or to snow covered habitats. Its pilei withstand very low temperatures. Even completely frozen they recover and grow and sporulate after temperature again rises above freezing point. One can find them from October to March being most frequent in January (Ref.:2.). Another interesting thing is that they need short wavelength light (blue 470 nm and above) to develop pilei and to sporulate (Ref.:2.). I haven't found an explanation why they need it. Generally fungi do not need light since they have no chlorophyll to synthesize their own food.

 

Flammulina velutipes grows as a saprobiont on wood of wide range of broadleaf trees, vast majority of them on Salix sp. and Fagus sylvatica. Fungi I found grew on Juglans regia, which is very seldom recorded. Only four of about thousand observations analyzed in Ref.:2. state Juglans regia as substratum. Taxonomy of this species is complex. Several taxa on f. and var. levels have been described. But, authors do not agree on them and Index Fungorum does not recognize them as valid names. The situation is well illustrated by the fact that there exist about 40 synonyms out of six genera. Also large differences in spore dimensions one can find in literature (see Fig. 2M) somehow confirm this.

 

Pilei photographed grew in several clusters, more than 80 pilei altogether were present; pileus diameter 1.8 - 4.5 cm and height 1.2 - 1.8 cm, upper surface very slimy, stipe diameter 3 - 4 mm above and 3.5 - 7 mm at the base, hollow when mature, tough, fairly fibrous and often flattened or twisted; taste mild slightly on soap; smell very mild but distinct, on bleach?, SP abundant white, oac909.

 

Spores dimensions: 7,0 [7,7 ; 8] 8,7 x 4,2 [4,6 ; 4,8] 5,2 microns; Q = 1,5 [1,6 ; 1,7] 1,8; N = 33; C = 95%; Me = 7,9 x 4,7 microns; Qe = 1,7. Olympus CH20, NEA 100x/1.25, magnification 1.000 x, oil, in water, Congo red. AmScope MA500 digital camera.

 

Herbarium: Mycotheca and lichen herbarium (LJU-Li) of Slovenian Forestry Institute, Večna pot 2, Ljubljana, Index Herbariorum LJF

 

Ref.:

(1) C. Bas, Flammulina in Western Europe, Persoonia (1983) 12 (1), pp 51-66 (cited in Ref.:2.)

(2) G.J. Krieglsteiner (Hrsg.), Die Grosspilze Baden-Württembergs, Band 3., Ulmer (2001), p 245.

(3) M. Bon, Parey's Buch der Pilze, Kosmos (2005), p 170.

(4) R. M. Dähncke, 1200 Pilze in Farbfotos, AT Verlag (2009), p 389.

(5) S. Buczacki, Collins Fungi Guide, Collins (2012), p 192.

(6) R. Lueder, Grundkurs Pilzbestimmung, Quelle & Meyer (2008), p 388.

(7) trace.tennessee.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1006&...

   

#5_MobilePhone_ICM_GeneralPostProcessing_AverageCameraPro

March 24, 2022: Picnic area along a rock-lined stream at Conejo Creek Park North in Thousand Oaks, California. Eight frames using Average Cama Pro app on iPhone.

Just for my own curiosity, I used FateHeart's measuring idea to calculate a rough scale for my Gundams.

 

Assuming an average male human height of roughly 1.8 meters;

Assuming Lego minifigures are of average height, scale-wise;

Assuming 4 bricks and 1 plate to be the height of a minifigure;

 

My large-scale Gundams are 9.5 minifigures tall, or (9.5*1.8)=17.1 meters tall. Considering that the RGM-79[G] GM's are what I based my frame off of, this is ALMOST to scale. Officially, the RGM-79[G] GM is 18 meters tall to the top of the head.

 

It should be noted that I took the picture from a low front angle, so the tower appears taller than even the crest. You'll have to take my word that is just to the top of the head, not the crest, if you view it straight on.

Namchi (Nepali : नाम्ची) or Namtse is the capital of the South Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Namchi is located at 27.17°N 88.35°E. It has an average elevation of 1,315 metres.

 

Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m above sea level. It is situated at a distance of 78 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok and 100 kilometres from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang. Namchi is well connected to other towns in Sikkim and West Bengal. Jeeps and buses regularly ply between Namchi to Gangtok, Pelling, Jorethang, Kalimpong and Siliguri.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of 2011 India census, Namchi has a population of 12194. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Namchi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Namchi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most of the people of Namchi are Hindus and Buddhists. Languages spoken are Nepali, English and Hindi.

 

EDUCATION

Namchi has more than half a dozen private schools with quality education (Mt. Carmel School, Namchi Public School, Tendong Educational Institute, Victory Educational Institute, New Light Academy etc.) and government Higher Secondary Schools for Boys and Girls and world valid computer institute (MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER INSTITUTE) an authorized study center of Manipal Group. Just few kilometers away from the town is a reputed Government College for Arts and Education. People give a lot of importance and focus on education with a reverence. Namchi Public School run by catholic missionaries is one of the respected educational institute in the State and one of the best in the south district of Sikkim.

 

TOURISM

Namchi is fast becoming a major tourist spot and pilgrimage centre. The Namchi monastery, Ralong monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centres. The world's largest statue (36 m) of the Buddhist Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim, is on the Samdruptse hill (The Wish Fulfilling well) opposite Namchi. It was completed in February 2004. It is also said that the Samdruptse hill is actually a Dormant Volcano. Myths say that the buddhist monks have been going on top of the hill and offering prayers to the volcano to keep it calm. There is also a Rock Garden just few kilometers up from the town on the way to Samdruptse.Sikkim Best Home Stay Dong Busty Home Stay just 8km away from Namchi Bazar. The Rock Garden displays a wide variety of Flora and is a local recreation and picnic spot. It offers a magnificent view of Mt. Kanchendzonga (aka Mt. Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak). Recently inaugurated (November 2011) Siddhesvara Dhaam is a unique pilgrimage tourism venture of the Sikkim Government developed as “Pilgrim cum Cultural Centre” having a 26,52 m statue of Lord Shiva and replicas of four Dhams of the country at one place at Solophok hilltop in Namchi. The four most revered Dhams of the Hindus Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees and tourists. The dream project of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling which was conceived by him and started in the year 2005 stands promisingly amidst the breadth taking surrounding of Solophok hill, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhams. For the consecration of the Dham Shri Jagadguru Sankaryacharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati in the presence of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling and his wife Smt Tika Maya Chamling did the “Pran Prastisha” of the Dham. There are replicas of the “Dwadash Jyotirlingas” (the twelve jyothirlinga) of Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleswar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Viswanath, Triambakeshwar, Vaidyanath, Nageswar, Rameshwar at Rameswaram and Grishneshwar surrounding the statue of Lord Shiva and the Char Dhams. There is a grand statue of Kirateshvar Mahadev and a temple of Shirdi Sai Baba too. One can have a view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, Statue of Guru Padmasambhava at Samdruptse, Darjeeling and other such locations from here. The Dham has stay facility for the devotees at “Yatri Niwas” which can accommodate more than 90 people at a time. The Dham has won the National Tourism Awards 2010–11 under the category of “Most Innovative/Unique Tourism Project” by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. A helipad is located 5 km away from town at an altitude of around 1524 m. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Mt. Kanchanzonga with the surrounding mountain a part of Darjeeling Kalimgpong and the rolling plains of Bengal. The visitors can savour the view of temi tea garden the one and the only tea estate in the state which produces top quality tea in the international market.

 

Near the town, Sikkim's sole tea estate — the Temi Tea Garden is situated. The tea carries a premium the world over and costs around Rs. 800/- a kg. The tea is marked by its exotic odour and flavour.

 

In the month of February, the Namchi garden hosts it annual flower show. The flower show is the largest in Sikkim with flowers in a riot of colours. The prime attraction of this show is the display of exotic and rare orchids.

 

One of the highlights of the town is the football stadium – the Baichung Stadium built by the Sikkimese government in honour of its most famous citizen, footballer Baichung Bhutia. "The Gold Cup" football tournament is held in Bhaichung Stadium almost every year. Football teams from all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan vie for the honour which draws lot of crowds from all over Sikkim. Namchi is also the base of the chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling.

 

Historically, Namchi was the place where Pende Ongmoo, the trecherous princess who poisoned one of the Chogyals of Sikkim, was caught and killed for her deed. Legend says her spirit still haunts the foothills of Ghurpisey.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Tiruvannamalai (Tamil: Tiruvaṇṇāmalai IPA: [ˈtiɾɯʋaɳːaːmalɛi̯], also Thiruvannamalai or Trinomali and Trinomalee during British times) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. The town is administered by a special grade municipality that covers an area of 16.33 km2 and had a population of 144,278 in 2011. It is the administrative headquarters of Tiruvannamalai District. Roadways are the major mode of transport in Tiruvannamalai, while the town also has rail connectivity. Chennai International Airport is the nearest domestic and international airport to the town. Tiruvannamalai is named after the central deity of the Annamalaiyar Temple, Annamalaiyar. The Karthigai Deepam festival is celebrated during the day of the full moon between November and December, and a huge beacon is lit atop the Annamalai hill. The event is witnessed by three million pilgrims. On the day preceding each full moon, pilgrims circumnavigate the temple base and the Annamalai hills in a worship called Girivalam, a practice carried out by one million pilgrims yearly.

 

Located on the foothills of Annamalai hills, Tiruvannamalai has been ruled by the Pallavas, the Medieval Cholas, the Later Cholas, Hoysalas, the Vijayanagar Empire, the Carnatic kingdom, Tipu Sultan, and the British. It served as the capital city of the Hoysalas. The town is built around the Annamalaiyar Temple like other Nayak capitals. Tiruvannamalai is administered by a special-grade a municipality constituted in 1886. Tiruvannamalai has an average elevation of 200 metres and experiences a hot and humid climate. Being a pilgrimage town, most of the people are employed in the tertiary sector. There are 25 elementary schools, nine high schools, 18 higher secondary schools, four arts & science colleges, one government medical college and four engineering colleges in the town.

 

ETYMOLOGY AND LEGEND

In Hindu mythology, Parvati, wife of Shiva, once closed the eyes of her husband playfully in a flower garden at their abode atop Mount Kailash. Although only a moment for the gods, all light was taken from the universe, and the earth, in turn, was submerged in darkness for years. Parvati performed penance with other devotees of Shiva, and her husband appeared as a column of fire at the top of Annamalai hills, returning light to the world. He then merged with Parvati to form Ardhanarishvara, the half-female, half-male form of Shiva. The Annamalai, or red mountain, lies behind the Annamalaiyar temple, and is associated with the temple of its namesake. The hill is sacred and considered a lingam, or iconic representation of Shiva, in itself. Another legend is that once, while Vishnu and Brahma contested for superiority, Shiva appeared as a flame, and challenged them to find his source. Brahma took the form of a swan, and flew to the sky to see the top of the flame, while Vishnu became the boar Varaha, and sought its base. The scene is called lingothbava, and is represented in the western wall at the sanctum of most Shiva temples. Neither Brahma nor Vishnu could find the source, and while Vishnu conceded his defeat, Brahma lied and said he had found the pinnacle. In punishment, Shiva ordained that Brahma would never have temples on earth in his worship. In Tamil, the word Arunam means red or fire and Asalam means hill. Since Shiva manifested himself in the form of fire in this place, this name Arunachalam came to be associated with Annamalai hill and the town. The first mention of Annamalai is found in Tevaram, the seventh century Tamil Saiva canonical work by Appar and Tirugnanasambandar.

 

HISTORY

The history of Tiruvannamalai revolves around the Annamalaiyar Temple. The recorded history of the town dates back to the ninth century, as seen from a Chola inscriptions in the temple. Further inscriptions made before ninth century indicate the rule of Pallava kings, whose capital was Kanchipuram. The seventh century Nayanar saints Sambandar and Appar wrote of the temple in their poetic work, Tevaram. Sekkizhar, the author of the Periyapuranam records both Appar and Sambandar worshiped Annamalaiyar in the temple. The Chola Kings ruled over the region for more than four centuries, from 850 to 1280, and were temple patrons. The inscriptions from the Chola king record various gifts like land, sheep, cow and oil to the temple commemorating various victories of the dynasty.

 

The Hoysala kings used Tiruvannamalai as their capital beginning in 1328. There are 48 inscriptions from the Sangama Dynasty (1336–1485), two inscriptions from Saluva Dynasty, and 55 inscriptions from Tuluva Dynasty (1491–1570) of the Vijayanagara Empire, reflecting gifts to the temple from their rulers. There are also inscriptions from the rule of Krishnadeva Raya (1509–1529), the most powerful Vijayanagara king, indicating further patronage. Most of the Vijayanagara inscriptions were written in Tamil, with some in Kannada and Sanskrit. The inscriptions in the temple from the Vijayanagara kings indicate emphasis on administrative matters and local concerns, which contrasts the inscriptions of the same rulers in other temples like Tirupathi. The majority of the gift related inscriptions are for land endowments, followed by goods, cash endowments, cows and oil for lighting lamps. The town of Tiruvannamalai was at a strategic crossroads during the Vijayanagara Empire, connecting sacred centers of pilgrimage and military routes. There are inscriptions that show the area as an urban center before the precolonial period, with the city developing around the temple, similar to the Nayak ruled cities like Madurai.

 

During the 17th century, Tiruvannamalai came under the dominion of the Nawab of the Carnatic. As the Mughal empire came to an end, the Nawab lost control of the town, with confusion and chaos ensuing after 1753. Subsequently, there were periods of both Hindu and Muslim stewardship of the temple, with Muraru Raya, Krishna Raya, Mrithis Ali Khan, and Burkat Ullakhan besieging the temple in succession. As European incursions progressed, Tiruvannamalai was attacked by French Soupries, Sambrinet, and the English Captain Stephen Smith. While some were repelled, others were victorious. The French occupied the town in 1757 and it came under the control of the British in 1760. In 1790, Tiruvannamalai town was captured by Tippu Sultan, who ruled from 1750–99. During the first half of the 19th century, the town came under British rule.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Tiruvannamalai is situated 185 km from the state capital Chennai and 210 km from Bangalore. The height of the Annamalai hill is approximately 814 m. Tiruvannamalai is located at 12°N 79.05°E. It has an average elevation of 200 metres. The town is located to the east of Eastern Ghats. The topography of Tiruvannamalai is almost plain sloping from west to east. Tiruvannamalai experiences hot and dry weather throughout the year. The temperature ranges from a maximum of 40 °C to a minimum of 20 °C. Like the rest of the state, April to June are the hottest months and December to January are the coldest. Tiruvannamalai receives scanty rainfall with an average of 815 mm annually, which is lesser than the state average of 1,008 mm. The southwest monsoon with an onset in June and lasting up to August brings scanty rainfall. Bulk of the rainfall is received during the northeast monsoon in the months of October, November and December. The average humidity of the town is 77% and varies between 67% to 86%. During the summer months of April to June, the humidity ranges from 47–63%. The municipality covers an area of 16.3 km2.

 

ECONOMY

Tiruvannamali is a temple town and a major pilgrimage centre in Tamil Nadu. The town is the marketing and service town for the surrounding places. Being the administrative headquarters of the Tiruvannamalai district, Tiruvannamalai has a lot of tertiary sector activities. Trade and commerce and service activities are the major contributors to the economy of the town. In 1991, 7.93% of the population was involved in primary sector, 21.34% in secondary sector and 70.73% in tertiary sector activities. The town had a female work participation of 11%. Due to the urbanisation from 1971, there has been dip in primary sector activities and a proportional increase in the tertiary sector activities. There is limited agricultural activity within the town limits. The secondary sector involves manufacturing and construction, whose growth has remained stable over the decades. There are a number of oil mills, rice mills and agro based industries within the Tiruvannamalai town limits. The tertiary sector activities of trade, commerce, transport, storage, communication and other services has been increasing due to the increasing number of tourists to the town. The patronage to Girivalam has increased informal economic activities around the town. The major commercial activities are concentrated around Car Street, Thiruvoodal Street, Kadambarayan Street, Asaliamman Koil Street, Sivanpada Street and Polur Road.

 

All major nationalised banks such as State Bank of India, Indian Bank, Central Bank of India, Punjab National Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Bank of India and private banks like ICICI Bank, Karur Vysya Bank have their branches in Tiruvannamalai. All these banks have their automated teller machines located in various parts of the town.

 

CULTURE

The Annamalaiyar Temple is the most prominent landmark of Tiruvannamalai. The temple complex covers an area of 10 ha, and is one of the largest temples in India. It houses four gateway towers known as gopurams. The tallest is the eastern tower, with 11 stories and a height of 66 m, making it one of the tallest temple towers in India. The temple has numerous shrines, with those of Annamalaiyar and Unnamulai Amman being the most prominent. The temple complex houses many halls; the most notable is the thousand-pillared hall built during the Vijayanagar period.

 

The Annamalaiyar temple is one of the Pancha Bhoota Stalas, or five Shiva temples, with each a manifestation of a natural element: land, water, air, sky or fire. In Annamalaiyar temple, Shiva is said to have manifested himself as a massive column of fire, whose crown and feet could not be found by the Hindu gods, Brahma and Vishnu. Aathara Stala are Shiva temples which are considered to be personifications of the Tantric chakras of human anatomy. The Annamalaiyar temple is called the Manipooraga stalam, and is associated with the Manipooraga chakra. The temple is revered in Tevaram, the Tamil Saiva canon and classified as Paadal Petra Sthalam, one of the 276 temples that find mention in the Saiva canon.

 

The most important festival of the Annamalaiyar temple is celebrated during the Tamil month of Karthikai, between November and December, concluding with the celebration of Karthikai Deepam. A huge lamp is lit in a cauldron, containing three tons of ghee, at the top of the Annamalai hills during the Deepam. To mark the occasion, the festival deity of Annamalaiyar circumambulates the mountain. Inscriptions indicate that the festival was celebrated as early as the Chola period (850–1280) and was expanded to ten days in the twentieth century.

 

Every full moon, tens of thousands of pilgrims worship Annamalaiyar by circumambulating the Annamalai hill barefoot. The circumambulation covers a distance of 14 kilometres, and is referred as Girivalam. According to Hindu legend, the walk removes sins, fulfils desires and helps achieve freedom from the cycle of birth and rebirth. Offerings are made in a string of tanks, shrines, pillared meditation halls, springs and caves around the hill.

 

Tirumalai is an ancient Jain temple complex in the outskirts of Tirvannamalai that houses three Jain caves, four Jain temples and a 4.9 m high sculpture of Neminatha dated from the 12th century and the tallest Jain image in Tamil Nadu.

 

The Ramana Ashram and ashram of Yogi Ramsuratkumar, located around the Annamalai hill are popular visitor attractions of Tiruvannamalai. The Sathanur Dam over the Thenpennair river located 20 km southwest of the town is a prominent picnic spot. This 786.37 m Dam is 44.81m high and can store 207,300,000 cubic meters of water. A scenic park is also present adjacent to this dam. Ulagalantha Perumal Temple in Tirukoyilur and Thiruvarangam, situated 20 km south of Tiruvannamalai are prominent Vishnu temples that are located around Tiruvannamalai.

 

WIKIPEDIA

Uma das fases da Lua, quando a sua totalidade é refletida na Terra é chamada de Lua cheia. Ocorre quando a Lua completa um movimento de 180° após a Lua nova, assim, seu disco lunar totalmente iluminado e é visível à noite, pois ela se opõe ao Sol em relação à Terra. O brilho característico da Lua, bem dominante nessa fase, é denominado de luar.

 

Como a órbita lunar é uma elipse, e não um círculo perfeito, assim como as outras fases, a lua cheia pode localizar no ponto mais próximo da Terra, Perigeu, ou mais distante, Apogeu. A lua cheia no perigeu é 14% maior e 30% mais brilhante do que no apogeu. Em 19 de março de 2011, a lua cheia ficou a uma distância de 356.577 km da Terra. Ela não se aproximava tanto durante a lua cheia desde 1993, e esse fenômeno é chamado de "Super Lua", no qual ocorre a cada 18 anos.

 

A lua cheia que ocorre logo após o equinócio de outono (20 de março), determina a data da Páscoa, que realiza-se no domingo seguinte a data dessa lua cheia. Desse modo, a Páscoa pode acontecer de 21 de março a 25 de abril.

 

__________________________________________

 

Full moon is a lunar phase that occurs when the Moon is on the opposite side of the Earth from the Sun. More precisely, a full moon occurs when the geocentric apparent (ecliptic) longitudes of the Sun and Moon differ by 180 degrees; the Moon is then in opposition with the Sun.[1]

 

Lunar eclipses can only occur at full moon, where the moon's orbit allows it to pass through the Earth's shadow. Lunar eclipses do not occur every month because the moon usually passes above or below the Earth's shadow (which is mostly restricted to the ecliptic plane). Lunar eclipses can occur only when the full moon occurs near the two nodes of the orbit, either the ascending or descending node. This causes eclipses to only occur about every 6 months, and often 2 weeks before or after a solar eclipse at new moon at the opposite node.

 

As seen from Earth, the hemisphere of the Moon that is facing the Earth (the near side) is almost fully illuminated by the Sun and appears round. Only during a full moon is the opposite hemisphere of the Moon, which is not visible from Earth (the far side), completely unilluminated.

 

The time interval between similar lunar phases—the synodic month—averages about 29.53 days. Therefore, in those lunar calendars in which each month begins on the new moon, the full moon falls on either the 14th or 15th of the lunar month. Because lunar months have a whole number of days, lunar months may be either 29 or 30 days long.

 

Fonte: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Full_moon

Namchi (Nepali : नाम्ची) or Namtse is the capital of the South Sikkim district in the Indian state of Sikkim. The appellation Namchi means Sky (Nam) High (Chi) in Sikkimese.

 

GEOGRAPHY

Namchi is located at 27.17°N 88.35°E. It has an average elevation of 1,315 metres.

 

Namchi is situated at an altitude of 1,675 m above sea level. It is situated at a distance of 78 kilometres from the state capital Gangtok and 100 kilometres from the town of Siliguri, the nearest railhead and airport. Namchi lies off the road between Melli and Jorethang. Namchi is well connected to other towns in Sikkim and West Bengal. Jeeps and buses regularly ply between Namchi to Gangtok, Pelling, Jorethang, Kalimpong and Siliguri.

 

DEMOGRAPHICS

As of 2011 India census, Namchi has a population of 12194. Males constitute 52% of the population and females 48%. Namchi has an average literacy rate of 78%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 81%, and female literacy is 73%. In Namchi, 9% of the population is under 6 years of age. Most of the people of Namchi are Hindus and Buddhists. Languages spoken are Nepali, English and Hindi.

 

EDUCATION

Namchi has more than half a dozen private schools with quality education (Mt. Carmel School, Namchi Public School, Tendong Educational Institute, Victory Educational Institute, New Light Academy etc.) and government Higher Secondary Schools for Boys and Girls and world valid computer institute (MULTIMEDIA COMPUTER INSTITUTE) an authorized study center of Manipal Group. Just few kilometers away from the town is a reputed Government College for Arts and Education. People give a lot of importance and focus on education with a reverence. Namchi Public School run by catholic missionaries is one of the respected educational institute in the State and one of the best in the south district of Sikkim.

 

TOURISM

Namchi is fast becoming a major tourist spot and pilgrimage centre. The Namchi monastery, Ralong monastery and Tendong Hill are important Buddhist pilgrimage centres. The world's largest statue (36 m) of the Buddhist Padmasambhava, also known as Guru Rinpoche, the patron saint of Sikkim, is on the Samdruptse hill (The Wish Fulfilling well) opposite Namchi. It was completed in February 2004. It is also said that the Samdruptse hill is actually a Dormant Volcano. Myths say that the buddhist monks have been going on top of the hill and offering prayers to the volcano to keep it calm. There is also a Rock Garden just few kilometers up from the town on the way to Samdruptse.Sikkim Best Home Stay Dong Busty Home Stay just 8km away from Namchi Bazar. The Rock Garden displays a wide variety of Flora and is a local recreation and picnic spot. It offers a magnificent view of Mt. Kanchendzonga (aka Mt. Kangchenjunga, the world's third highest peak). Recently inaugurated (November 2011) Siddhesvara Dhaam is a unique pilgrimage tourism venture of the Sikkim Government developed as “Pilgrim cum Cultural Centre” having a 26,52 m statue of Lord Shiva and replicas of four Dhams of the country at one place at Solophok hilltop in Namchi. The four most revered Dhams of the Hindus Jagannath, Dwarika, Rameshawaram, Badrinath have been replicated in this fantastic complex to benefit the devotees and tourists. The dream project of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling which was conceived by him and started in the year 2005 stands promisingly amidst the breadth taking surrounding of Solophok hill, befitting the mythological setting behind the establishment of the original Dhams. For the consecration of the Dham Shri Jagadguru Sankaryacharya Swami Swarupananda Saraswati in the presence of the Chief Minister Shri Pawan Chamling and his wife Smt Tika Maya Chamling did the “Pran Prastisha” of the Dham. There are replicas of the “Dwadash Jyotirlingas” (the twelve jyothirlinga) of Somnath, Mallikarjuna, Mahakaleswar, Omkareshwar, Kedarnath, Bhimashankar, Viswanath, Triambakeshwar, Vaidyanath, Nageswar, Rameshwar at Rameswaram and Grishneshwar surrounding the statue of Lord Shiva and the Char Dhams. There is a grand statue of Kirateshvar Mahadev and a temple of Shirdi Sai Baba too. One can have a view of the Mt Kanchenjunga, Statue of Guru Padmasambhava at Samdruptse, Darjeeling and other such locations from here. The Dham has stay facility for the devotees at “Yatri Niwas” which can accommodate more than 90 people at a time. The Dham has won the National Tourism Awards 2010–11 under the category of “Most Innovative/Unique Tourism Project” by the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India. A helipad is located 5 km away from town at an altitude of around 1524 m. From here one can get the most panoramic view of Mt. Kanchanzonga with the surrounding mountain a part of Darjeeling Kalimgpong and the rolling plains of Bengal. The visitors can savour the view of temi tea garden the one and the only tea estate in the state which produces top quality tea in the international market.

 

Near the town, Sikkim's sole tea estate — the Temi Tea Garden is situated. The tea carries a premium the world over and costs around Rs. 800/- a kg. The tea is marked by its exotic odour and flavour.

 

In the month of February, the Namchi garden hosts it annual flower show. The flower show is the largest in Sikkim with flowers in a riot of colours. The prime attraction of this show is the display of exotic and rare orchids.

 

One of the highlights of the town is the football stadium – the Baichung Stadium built by the Sikkimese government in honour of its most famous citizen, footballer Baichung Bhutia. "The Gold Cup" football tournament is held in Bhaichung Stadium almost every year. Football teams from all over India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan vie for the honour which draws lot of crowds from all over Sikkim. Namchi is also the base of the chief minister of Sikkim, Pawan Kumar Chamling.

 

Historically, Namchi was the place where Pende Ongmoo, the trecherous princess who poisoned one of the Chogyals of Sikkim, was caught and killed for her deed. Legend says her spirit still haunts the foothills of Ghurpisey.

 

WIKIPEDIA

LAKE KIVU

 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

Lake Kivu

 

Coordinates 2°0′S 29°0′ECoordinates: 2°0′S 29°0′E

Type Rift Valley lakes, Meromictic

Primary outflows Ruzizi River

Catchment area 2,700 km2 (1,000 sq mi)

Basin countries Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Max. length 89 km (55 mi)[1]

Max. width 48 km (30 mi)[1]

Surface area 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi)[1]

Average depth 240 m (787 ft)

Max. depth 480 m (1,575 ft)

Water volume 500 km3 (120 cu mi)

Surface elevation 1,460 m (4,790 ft)

Islands Idjwi

Settlements Goma, Congo

Bukavu, Congo

Kibuye, Rwanda

Cyangugu, Rwanda

Lake Kivu with Goma in the background

 

Lake Kivu is one of the African Great Lakes. It lies on the border between the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Rwanda, and is in the Albertine Rift, the western branch of the East African Rift. Lake Kivu empties into the Ruzizi River, which flows southwards into Lake Tanganyika. The name comes from kivu which means "lake" in some Bantu languages, just like the words tanganyika or nyanza.[citation needed]

 

Contents

 

1 History

2 Geography

3 Chemistry

3.1 Methane extraction

4 Biology and fisheries

5 See also

6 References

 

History

This section needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2012)

People on the shore at Gisenyi

 

The first European to visit the lake was German Count Adolf von Götzen in 1894. Since then it has been caught up in the conflict between Hutu and Tutsi people in Rwanda, and their allies in DR Congo, which led to the 1994 Rwandan Genocide and the First and Second Congo Wars. Lake Kivu gained notoriety as a place where many of the victims of the genocide were dumped.

Geography

 

The lake covers a total surface area of some 2,700 km2 (1,040 sq mi) and stands at a height of 1,460 metres (4,790 ft) above sea level. Some 1 370 km2 or 58% of the lake's waters lie within DRC borders. The lake bed sits upon a rift valley that is slowly being pulled apart, causing volcanic activity in the area, and making it particularly deep: its maximum depth of 480 m (1,575 ft) is ranked eighteenth in the world.

 

The world's tenth-largest inland island, Idjwi, lies in Lake Kivu, as does the tiny island of Tshegera, which also lies within the boundaries of Virunga National Park; while settlements on its shore include Bukavu, Kabare, Kalehe, Sake, and Goma in Congo, and Gisenyi, Kibuye, and Cyangugu in Rwanda.

Chemistry

 

Lake Kivu is a fresh water lake and, along with Cameroonian Lake Nyos and Lake Monoun, is one of three that experience limnic eruptions. Around the lake, geologists found evidence of massive biological extinctions about every thousand years, caused by outgassing events. The trigger for lake overturns in Lake Kivu's case is unknown, but volcanic activity is suspected. The gaseous chemical composition of exploding lakes is unique to each lake; in Lake Kivu's case, methane and carbon dioxide due to lake water interaction with a volcano. The amount of methane is estimated to be 65 cubic kilometers (if burnt over one year, it would give an average power of about 100 gigawatts for the whole period). There is also an estimated 256 cubic kilometers of carbon dioxide. The water temperature is 24°C, and the pH level is about 8.6.[2] The methane is reported to be produced by microbial reduction of the volcanic CO2.[3] The risk from a possible Lake Kivu overturn is catastrophic, dwarfing other documented lake overturns at Lakes Nyos and Monoun, because of the approximately two million people living in the lake basin.

 

Cores from the Bukavu Bay area of the lake reveal that the bottom has layered deposits of the rare mineral monohydrocalcite interlain with diatoms, on top of sapropelic sediments with high pyrite content. These are found at three different intervals. The sapropelic layers are believed to be related to hydrothermal discharge and the diatoms to a bloom which reduced the carbon dioxide levels low enough to precipitiate monohydrocalcite.[4]

 

Scientists hypothesize that sufficient volcanic interaction with the lake's bottom water that has high gas concentrations would heat water, force the methane out of the water, spark a methane explosion, and trigger a nearly simultaneous release of carbon dioxide.[5][6] The carbon dioxide would then suffocate large numbers of people in the lake basin as the gases roll off the lake surface. It is also possible that the lake could spawn lake tsunamis as gas explodes out of it.[7][8]

 

The risk posed by Lake Kivu began to be understood during the analysis of more recent events at Lake Nyos. Lake Kivu's methane was originally thought to be merely a cheap natural resource for export, and for the generation of cheap power. Once the mechanisms that caused lake overturns began to be understood, so did awareness of the risk the lake posed to the local population.

 

An experimental vent pipe was installed at Lake Nyos in 2001 to remove gas from the deep water, but such a solution for the much larger Lake Kivu would be considerably more expensive. No plan has been initiated to reduce the risk posed by Lake Kivu.[dubious – discuss] The approximately 500 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the lake is a little under 2 percent of the amount released annually by human fossil fuel burning. Therefore the process of releasing it could potentially have costs beyond building and operating the system.

Methane extraction

Methane extraction platform.

 

Lake Kivu has recently been found to contain approximately 55 billion cubic metres (1.94 trillion cubic feet) of dissolved biogas at a depth of 300 metres (1,000 ft). Until 2004, extraction of the gas was done on a small scale, with the extracted gas being used to run boilers at a brewery, the Bralirwa brewery in Gisenyi.[9][10] As far as large-scale exploitation of this resource is concerned, the Rwandan government has negotiated with a number of parties to produce methane from the lake.

 

In 2011 ContourGlobal, a U.S. based energy company focused on emerging markets, secured project financing to initiate a large-scale methane extraction project. The project will be run through a local Rwandan entity called KivuWatt, using an offshore barge platform to extract, separate, and clean the gasses obtained from the lake bed before pumping purified methane via an underwater pipeline to on-shore gas engines. Stage one of the project aims to build and supply three "gensets" along the lake shore, totaling 25MW of electrical capacity. Initial project operations are scheduled to commence in 2012.[11] In addition to managing gas extraction, KivuWatt will also manage the electrical generation plants and on-sell the electrical power to the Rwandan government under the terms of a long-term Power Purchase Agreement (PPA). This allows KivuWatt to control a vertically integrated energy offering from point of extraction to point of sale into the local grid. Extraction is said to be cost-effective and relatively simple because once the gas-rich water is pumped up, the dissolved gases (primarily carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulphide and methane) begin to bubble out as the water pressure gets lower. This project is expected to increase Rwanda's energy generation capability by as much as 20 times, and will enable Rwanda to sell electricity to neighboring African countries.[10] The firm was awarded the 2011 Africa Power deal of the year for innovation in the financing arrangements it obtained from various sources for the KivuWatt project. [12] .[13]

 

A problem associated with the prevalence of methane is that of mazuku.

Biology and fisheries

Fishing boats on Lake Kivu, 2009.

Reflection of the sky on Lake Kivu

 

The fish fauna in Lake Kivu is relatively poor with 28 species, including four introduced species.[14] The natives are the Lake Rukwa minnow (Raiamas moorii), four species of Barbus (B. altianalis, B. apleurogramma, B. kerstenii and B. pellegrini), an Amphilius catfish, two Clarias catfish (C. liocephalus and C. gariepinus), Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and 15 endemic Haplochromis cichlids.[14] The introduced species are three cichlids, the longfin tilapia (Oreochromis macrochir), O. leucostictus and redbreast tilapia (Coptodon rendalli), and a clupeid, the Lake Tanganyika sardine, Limnothrissa miodon.[14]

 

The exploitable stock of the Lake Tanganyika sardine was estimated at 2000–4000 tons per year.[15] It was introduced to Lake Kivu in the late 1959 by a Belgian Engineer A. Collart. At present, Lake Kivu is the sole natural lake in which L. miodon, a sardine originally restricted to Lake Tanganyika, has been introduced initially to fill an empty niche. Prior to the introduction, no planktivorous fish was present in the pelagic waters of Lake Kivu. In the early 1990s, the number of fishers on the lake was 6,563, of which 3,027 were associated with the pelagic fishery and 3,536 with the traditional fishery. Widespread armed conflict in the surrounding region from the mid-1990s resulted in a decline in the fisheries harvest.[16]

 

Following this introduction, the sardine has gained substantial economic and nutritional importance for the lakeside human population but from an ecosystem standpoint, the introduction of planktivorous fish may result in important modifications of plankton community structure. Recent observations showed the disappearance during the last decades of a large grazer, Daphnia curvirostris, and the dominance of mesozooplankton community by three species of cyclopoid copepod: Thermocyclops consimilis, Mesocyclops aequatorialis and Tropocyclops confinis.[17][18]

 

The first comprehensive phytoplankton survey was released in 2006.[19] With an annual average chlorophyll a in the mixed layer of 2.2 mg m-3 and low nutrient levels in the euphotic zone, the lake is clearly oligotrophic. Diatoms are the dominant group in the lake, particularly during the dry season episodes of deep mixing. During the rainy season, the stratified water column, with high light and lower nutrient availability, favour dominance of cyanobacteria with high numbers of phototrophic picoplankton.[19][20][21][22] The actual primary production is 0.71 g C m-2 d-1 (~ 260 g C m-2 y-1).[23]

 

A study of evolutionary genetics showed that the cichlids from lakes in northern Virunga (e.g., Edward, George, Victoria) would have evolved in a "proto-lake Kivu", much older than the intense volcanic activity (20,000-25,000 years ago) which cut the connection.[24] The elevation of the mountains west of the lake (which is currently the Kahuzi-Biega National Park, one of the largest reserves of eastern lowland (or Grauer's) gorillas in the world), combined with the elevation of the eastern rift (located in eastern Rwanda) would be responsible for drainage of water from central Rwanda in the actual Lake Kivu. This concept of "proto-lake Kivu" was challenged by lack of consistent geological evidence,[25] although the cichlid's molecular clock suggests the existence of a lake much older than the commonly cited 15,000 years.

 

Lake Kivu is the home of four species of freshwater crab, including two non-endemics (Potamonautes lirrangensis and P. mutandensis) and two endemics (P. bourgaultae and P. idjwiensis).[26] Among Rift Valley lakes, Lake Tanganyika is the only other with endemic freshwater crabs.[26]

The average was about 2-3mph less than what was displayed on the Garmin 705 - I tended to believe the 705 more for two reasons: 1. It was more and that motivated me 2. My friend can't setup his bike computer to save his life!

 

If you use this image then please attribute it to www.londoncyclist.co.uk

This is what the toilet on the Megabus looked like. Not too bad. Better than the average train, I'd say.

Designer: David Hillyard

Builder: Hillyards Ltd, Littlehampton

Year: 1964

Location Devon

Length on deck: 40'

Beam: 11'6"

Draft: 5'6"

Tonnage(TM): 18TM

£33,000

REF: 2013

Full Specification

 

18 ton Hillyard bermudan cutter from the famous yard of David Hillyard in Littlehampton. Hillyards were one of the first yards in the world to mass produce yachts and make the sport more available to the average person. Although nothing like on the scale of modern yacht builders, Hillyards produced many hundreds of boats in the time they were trading, and although not known for their high performance or yacht like finish, they were nonetheless extremely solid, well built and safe cruising yachts that were available at a sensible price.

This particular example is one of the bigger boats, built in 1964 with the typical canoe stern, straight keel and a full bilge with a chine just below the waterline. Used in present ownership for local cruising and living aboard, however she was cruised extensively by the previous owners who put the boat through a major refit, including new deck and superstructure by Hillyards and replacement of all systems. They then started a 30,000Nm journey that took them from Russia to the Caribbean and America in which the boat was thoroughly tested and put through her paces.

 

Planked in 1 ¼” Mahogany, fastened with copper nails and roves to 4”x 2” sawn oak frames, with 2”x 2” intermediates at 12” centres.

New sheerstrakes in 1995.

 

External 2T iron ballast keel with galvanised steel keel bolts, all replaced in 1995. Internal ballast of approximately 2-3T made up of lead pigs and concrete. Concrete has been there from new.

 

Marine plywood deck sheathed in epoxy cloth and finished in cream deck paint for an absolutely tight, low maintenance deck.

Deck completely replaced in 1995 refit along with some deckbeams and sheerstrake. All professionally done by Hillyards yard.

 

Mahogany coachroof coamings running aft into the aft cabin coachroof. Sheathed marine plywood coachroof deck finished in cream deck paint. Portholes in the forrard end of the coachroof with opening windows in the coamings to give plenty of light down below.

Varnished mahogany hatch on the aft cabin coachroof for access and ventilation, with 2 large wooden cleats at the forrard end for making fast the mainsheet.

Coachroof finishes just aft of the mast giving a large open foredeck.

Twin roller galvanised stem head fitting to take the anchor with a heavy duty Simpson Lawrence 500 Manual windlass. Large admiralty style galvanised bow cleats port and starboard on the foredeck.

Varnished mahogany forehatch.

Large galvanised stanchions with galvanised top rail and wire lower rail. Varnished toe rail very cleverly set on the stanchion bases to avoid screwing down through the plywood deck.

Varnished handrails on the coachroof with canvas sprayhood giving shelter to the centre cockpit.

 

Large self draining centre cockpit. Very deep and safe cockpit well with high coamings and plenty of shelter.

Wheel steering, offset to port at the aft end of the cockpit, with chain gypsy onto wire cables attached to wooden rudder, new in 1995 refit.

 

Bermudan cutter rig on deck stepped built spruce mast in a galvanised tabernacle.

Mast new in 2000. Deck beams around the mast all renewed and strengthened in the 1995 refit.

Slab reefing varnished spruce boom. Varnished jib pole.

Stainless steel wire standing rigging with Stalock S/S terminals, all replaced in 2000, to galvanised rigging screws on external galvanised chainplates. This is a very unstressed rig unlike modern high tension rigs so the standing rigging will have plenty of life left in it yet. Twin lower stays, single cap shroud and twin intermediate stays. Single standing backstay.

Hanked staysail on the stainless steel inner forestay. Roller furling jib.

 

Mainsail Supasails 340sqft 11yrs Excellent

Yankee Arun Sails 12yrs Good

Staysail Arun Sails 12yrs Good

 

Winches

Pair of Andersen 48 self tailing yankee sheet winches on the cockpit coamings.

Pair of Lewmar staysail sheet winches

1 non sel- tailing Lewmar for the roller furler

1 Harken self-tailing halyard winch on the mast.

1 Lewmar non self tailing on the boom for reefing lines. Clutches for each reefing line.

  

Accomodation

 

6 berths in 3 cabins including the saloon.

Double hinged doors from the cockpit leading down into the open saloon with L-shaped settee and saloon table over to port. Full length settee berth along the starboard side. 6’2” headroom throughout the saloon. Chest fridge under port settee.

Plenty of storage space in numerous shelves and lockers.

Dickenson Newport diesel heater on fwd starboard bulkhead with its own small header tank behind the stb berth.

Passageway in aft stb corner to aft cabin. Double berth aft cabin with 6’2” headroom. Hanging locker and storage under the berth.

Centreline passage fwd from saloon. Step down into galley offset to port. 1 ½ bowl stainless steel sink with hot and cold running water. ‘Force 10’ 4 burner gas cooker and oven. Ample work surface area with storage above and below.

2 x water tanks beneath the saloon cabin sole, 1 galvanised and 1 plastic with 80 gallons total capacity.

Heads to stb with Baby Blake sea toilet pumped into plastic TecTank black water tank. Full standing headroom shower, drains to a sump and pumped overboard via automatic electric pump.

Forward to twin cabin with large port and starboard single bunks. 6’ headroom between beams. Full height hanging locker with plenty of storage under the bunks.

Fore peak currently used for storage. Possibility of V-berths for the younger members of the crew. Chain locker under.

The accommodation is spacious and light with plenty of grab rails as you would expect from a seasoned cruising yacht. The layout of these boats allows for separate living areas outside of the saloon making it perfect for couples to cruise and have their own space onboard. In warmer climes, the cockpit becomes another living area giving a huge amount of space inside a 40’ yacht.

 

Machinery

Ford Parsons Pike 4 cyl 60Hp diesel engine, installed 1968.

Engine completely rebuilt in 1996

New mounts in 2000

New heat exchanger in 2004.

Parsons Marinomatic single lever control gearbox to centre line stainless steel shaft with 3 blade bronze propeller. Gives 6 knots cruising, 7.5 knots max.

70 gallon galvanised steel fuel tank below the saloon cabin sole with dipstick gauge.

1 x 12 volt engine start battery

2 x 12 volt domestic batteries

Seperate alternator charging for each battery bank.

 

Inventory.

 

Original Sestrel steering compass

CTREK sounder

CTREK log

DSC VHF

Raytheon radar

Garmin 120 GPS

Navtex

Wind indicator

Hydrovane wind streering

 

6 man Oceansafety liferaft (due service)

Horse shoe lifebuoy

Danbuoy

Various fire extinguishers

 

30kg Bruce anchor

30kg plough anchor

20kg plough anchor

20kg Fisherman anchor

65m 10mm galvanised chain

50m 18mm Octoplait warp

 

2 piece 10’ plywood ‘Nesting’ dinghy

Mooring warps

6 Fenders

1 summer cover

Full winter cover

 

This great yacht has proved her worth time and again with several owners over many thousands of miles of ocean sailing and is now on the market after this particular adventure has come to its end.

She is priced to sell as the owners now want to move on, but she is ready to take on new challenges and carry on exploring.

Living in the compound of the HVA poultry and dairy project in Tawergha was very different from our life in Holland in many ways. There were on average 30 employees who brought their families with them and some 80 to 120 ‘bachelors’. All together a small village, a world of our own, with all facilities like a social building for meetings and parties, a restaurant, swimming pool and tennis courts, a small camp shop and a school.

 

The compound was surrounded by a high fence and in later years there would be a guard at the gate. But we used to joke that we just had to keep the wild dogs out, we were never in need of much protection because the people of Taworgha were very friendly and glad to have us there.

 

We were invited in their homes and lives on many occasions, we shared meals, were taken to religious events, parties, horse races and attended their weddings. We even let our children stay at their homes and families for sleepovers, just by themselves. The worst criminal event that ever happened to us was the theft of a bike by one of the young Libyan boys, which was handed back to us the next day.

 

The climate was of course one of the best Libyan assets and so was living in the dessert, which provided all sorts of interesting new stuff and animals to be found. Weekend was just one day, on Fridays, which were mostly spent at the seaside. To get to the most beautiful shore, with white sandy beaches and fabulous rocks, a great salt lake some seventy kilometers wide had to be crossed by car. This could only be done in the hot season because the plains had to dry out. It was always exciting in late spring to see who would be first to get to the other side of the dark mud with the thin layer of crusty salt. Many drivers could not resist trying to drive next to the tracks and without exception they got stuck there. Sometimes they had to leave the vehicle behind or have it dugout with heavy machinery later in the year.

 

At the combined Dutch-English elementary school in the campsite several year-groups with just a hand full of kids shared one classroom, and all the children played with each other. The freedom of the dessert was fabulous: a huge sandpit to play and to explore with All Terrain Bikes with a couple of wild dogs, snakes or scorpions for extra fun and excitement. A great deal of the after school hours were spent at the swimming pool or roaming around in the compound on the back of a donkey.

 

Once a week we would go shopping for everything we needed in Misrata the city next door almost 50 kilometers to the north of Tawergha. In the early years we did sometimes encounter unpleasant treatment on the market place there. This was caused by the animosities between Misrata and Tawergha as we discovered later on.

 

Deep rooted discrimination of the black inhabitants of the Tawergha oasis was the cause of many rough remarks made by the Misrata tradesmen.

They were convinced that Gaddafi had made a huge mistake by developing such a wonderful project in that godforsaken place with black ‘dogs’. They told us specifically that these slaves were bad people, and bad Muslims as well, who did not deserve the wealth of good jobs and the development of their region.

 

In our eyes the men from Misrata were not much paler than the Tawerghans and we used to smile about it, not knowing how these racist and jealous remarks would work out in such horrible disaster.

 

(written by Olga Roffel)

Steady Brook, Newfoundland. Located about ten minutes past Corner Brook on the Trans-Canada Highway, Marble Mountain is the largest ski resort in Canada east of Québec. In an average winter, 16 feet (5m) of snow fall on 37 trails of various lengths and skill levels that plunge 1,760 feet (536m) from the peak of the mountain to near this parking lot; in the summer, it's a nice place for hikers, with short trails leading to the purportedly beautiful Steady Brook Falls. That's the experience I had in mind up to the point I arrived in North Sydney and prepared for my ferry trip over to Newfoundland. However, the perfect storm of my frustratingly late departure from Nova Scotia, the resultant alterations to my itinerary, the grueling pace of the trip so far, my lack of sleep, and not knowing where to find the trailhead made for a situation where hiking was the last thing I wanted to do. Luckily, even the vicinity of the Marble Mountain parking lot is quite photogenic, and I caught a nap in the car for about half an hour before continuing on my way. And now I have a ready-made reason to come back to Newfoundland again some time.

 

Steady Brook, Terre-Neuve. Située une dizaine de minutes après Corner Brook le long de la Route transcanadienne, Marble Mountain est la plus grande station de ski au Canada à l'est du Québec. Lors d'un hiver moyen, 5 mètres de neige tombent sur sur 37 sentiers de différentes longueurs et niveaux de compétence, qui plongent 536 mètres depuis le sommet de la montagne jusqu'à près de ce parc de stationnement; pendant l'été, c'est un endroit agréable pour les randonneurs, avec des courts sentiers qui mènent à la prétendument belle chute de Steady Brook. Telle était l'expérience que j'avais prévu jusqu'au temps quand je suis arrivé à North Sydney et je me préparais pour mon voyage à Terre-Neuve en ferry. Cependant, le parafit concours de mon départ désespérément tradif de la Nouvelle-Écosse, les modifications à mon itinéraire qui en résultaient, le rythme épuisant du voyage jusqu'à ce temps-là, ma manque de sommeil, et ma manque de connaissance d'où trouver le début du sentier a créé une situation où la randonnée était la dernière chose que je voulais faire. Heureusement, même la proximité du parc de stationnement de Marble Mountain est très photogénique, et je pouvais aussi de faire une sieste dans la voiture pendant environ une demi-heure avant de continuer sur mon chemin. Et maintenant, j'ai une raison toute faite de revenir à Terre-Neuve quelque temps.

 

Steady Brook, Terranova. Situada cerca de diez minutos mas allá de Corner Brook a lo largo de la Carretera Transcanadiense, Marble Mountain es la estación de esquí más grande de Canadá al este de Quebec. Durante un invierno normal, 5 metros de nieve caen sobre 37 pistas de distintas longitudes y niveles de habilidad, que hunden 536 metros desde la cima de la montaña hasta cerca de esta playa de estacionamiento; en el verano, es un buen lugar para los senderistas, con senderos cortos que llevan a la supuestamente hermosa Catarata de Steady Brook. Esa es la experiencia que yo había previsto hasta el tiempo cuando llegué a North Sydney y me preparaba para mi viaje a Terranova en transbordador. Sin embargo, la tormenta perfecta de mi salida frustrantemente tardía de Nueva Escocia, las alteraciones a mi itinerario que resultaron, el ritmo extenuante del viaje hasta ese tiempo, mi falta de sueño, y no saber dónde encontrar el comienzo del sendero hizo una situación donde el senderismo era lo último que quería hacer. Afortunadamente, incluso las proximidades de la playa de estacionamiento de Marble Mountain son muy fotogénicas, y yo era capaz de tomar una siesta en el coche durante una media hora antes de continuar en mi camino. Y ahora tengo una razón concreta para volver a Terranova de nuevo algún tiempo.

Average depth of 100 m deep, glacier water 4 °C

Jasper NP, the largest national park in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

---------------------------------

Durchschnittliche Tiefe von 100 m, Gletscherwasser 4 °C

Jasper NP, der größte Nationalpark in den kanadischen Rocky Mountains.

 

and now I am further procrastinating by writing about my procrastination score - a lovely 63 that ranks me as an "above average procrastinator." But it also says I am more free-spirited than most. It's totally true what is says about stimulus control for me - that I need an office and visual spaces to get me working.

Who will I blame for this detour? Davidjacobs

Have I inspired you to procrastinate? If so, take your test with Procrastination Central and find out your score.

 

My Goal of 63:

  

You rank between the top 25% and 10% in terms of procrastination. That is, when it comes to putting things off, you often do so even though you know you shouldn’t. Likely, you are more free-spirited and spontaneous than most. Probably, your work doesn’t engage you as much as you would like or perhaps you are surrounded by easily available and more pleasant temptations. These temptations may initially seem rewarding, but in the longer-term, you see many of them as time-wasters. Though you likely often still get your work done, there is probably a lot of last minute panicking and unwanted stress. You may want to reduce what procrastination you do commit. If so, here are three tips that have been shown to work:

 

Goal Setting

This is one of the most established ways of moving forward on your plans. Take any project you are presently procrastinating and break it down into individual steps. Each of these steps should have the following three aspects. First, they should be somewhat challenging though achievable for you. It is more satisfying to accomplish a challenge. Second, they should be proximal, that is you can achieve them fairly soon, preferable today or over the next few days. Third, they should be specific, that is you know exactly when you have accomplished them. If you can visualize in your mind what you should do, even better.

 

Stimulus Control

This method has also been well tested and is very successful. What you need is a single place that you do your work and nothing else. Essentially, you need an office, though many students have a favorite desk at a library. For stimulus control to work best, the office or desk should be free of any signs of temptation or easily available distractions that might pull you away (e.g., no games, no chit-chat, no web-surfing). If you need a break, that is fine, but make sure you have it someplace at least a few minutes distant, preferably outside of the building itself. If you are unwilling to take the time to get there, acknowledge that you likely don’t need the break.

 

Routines

Routines are difficult to get into but in the end, this is often our aim. Things are much easier to do when we get into a habit of them, whether it is work, exercise, or errands. If you schedule some of those tasks you are presently procrastinating upon so that they occur on a regular schedule, they become easier. Start your routine slowly, something to which you can easily commit. Eventually, like brushing your teeth, it will likely become something you just do, not taking much effort at all. At this point, you might add to your routine, again always keeping your overall level of effort at a moderate to low level. Importantly, when you fall off your routine, inevitable with sickness or the unexpected, get back on it as soon as possible. Your routine gets stronger every time your follow it. It also gets weaker every time you don’t.

   

Procrastination has been reduced to a mathematical equation: U = E x V / I x D, where U is the desire to complete the task; E, the expectation of success; V, the value of completion; I, the immediacy of task; and D, the personal sensitivity to delay. For some types of tasks, my biggest stumbling block would be E—what if I'm no good? For others, it would be what, really, is the consequence of not cleaning the house for one more hour, or day? You can measure your own level of procrastination here. (via 43f)

Originally from Rebecca's Pocket; reBlogged on Jan 16, 2007, 11:53AM Originally from Rebecca's Pocket

 

In 2023, three million cars in London are parked for on average 95 per cent of the time. On-street parking occuping the equivalent of twenty Hyde Parks, denying this space for other use. The average private car occupies the same space as twenty people standing or ten people on a bicycle, while only 56 per cent of Londoners own a car and 28 per cent of the 87,000 Uber cars in London typically circle the streets without passengers, waiting to be allocated a job. In 2023, half of all car trips made in the USA were under three miles and 70 per cent of cars carried only one person. The average car speed in Beijing and Paris is 7mph – slower than a horse and cart. We want people in our towns and cities, not their cars.

( thanks to Adrian J Walker for photo of vintage van

( flic.kr/p/2p2y9da ) background photo from timepix.uk is Stockport, Manchester )

Taken with a Nikon D3200.

Data from NextBus and Cabspotting.

 

Muni speeds are instantaneous measurements. Cabspotting speeds are derived from the travel time between points and the relative frequency with which points appear in the sample, and probably underestimate the speeds at the fastest points and overestimate them at the slowest. The speeds are averages so there are probably many vehicles moving much faster or slower than these speeds at times.

 

By the way, nobody has asked, but I think the explanation for the place where the buses are substantially faster than taxis between Fell and Hayes is that a lot of the taxis are actually waiting in line for the gas station there.

Mississippi Canyon 243 (Matterhorn Rig/block) in the Gulf of Mexico 30 miles from the Louisiana coastline. The Matterhorn field, located in 2,789 feet (850 meters) of water, was discovered in 1999, sanctioned in July 2001 and came into production in November 2003. It's located 30 miles SE of the mouth of the Mississippi River. The field has produced an average rate of 5,200 boed at year-end 2009. The Matterhorn field is located on Mississipi Canyon block 243. Global Marine Celtic Sea semisub drilled the Matterhorn discovery well to a depth of 8,165 feet (2,490 meters) and exposed 370 feet (112 meters) of oil. The Matternorn field is Plio-Pleistocene in age. The Matterhorn field development encompasses a mini-Tension Leg Platform with nine well slots and production capacities of 35,000 bopd of oil, 55 MMcf/d. The mini-TLP floating structure has a production capacity of 33,000 bopd of oil and more than 55 MMcf/d (1.55 MMcm/d) of natural gas. The TLP is an Altantia SeaStar design, previously designed and installed on three successful deepwater projects. The Matterhorn was 100% owned by Total E&P USA through January 2010, when the company sold its interest to W&T Offshore. Matterhorn TLP is the largest mini-TLP built to date. It's twice the size of the earlier units and the first to incorporate dry trees -- weighing in at 5,500 tons (4,990 tonnes). It is also the first unit to incorporate supporting vertical access production flow lines running through the central moon pool. The hull measures 84 feet (26 meters) in diameter and 125 feet (38 meters) in height. The platform is capable of carrying nine top-tensioned production risers, seven of which were installed on the platform during commissioning. Three pontoons at the base of the column give the structure a widened diameter of 359 feet (54 meters). It is designed to support a payload of 8,425 tons. It was constructed by Gulf Marine Fabricators and Pragon Engineering.

Parenting is challenging, so it's vital that you learn every skill and technique on the market so that you can continue to grow at it. The better knowledge and knowledge you may have, including understanding what your kids goes through at various stages, the better successful you'll be at raising a kid.

 

Remove anything from the countertop in your kitchen, recline your son or daughter over a towel, and permit water through the tap to soak their hair. Most toddlers find this technique less stressful than having their head placed under water.

 

When traveling using a small child, try to keep the identical bedtime and mealtime routines when you have in the home. Travel may be stressful for anyone, however it is particularly challenging for children, especially infants. To aid your kids in feeling comfortable while on a trip and make certain that every people in your party get a better night's sleep, make sure you observe established bedtime rituals.

 

Children inside the preschool years tend not to handle transitions well. When they are pulled from something too early, it could trigger a melt down.

 

It is essential that you obtain time and energy to yourself, from your children. Get a relative or sitter to look at them, even for a quick time. Parents that do not get personal or adult time from children have higher levels of stress that magnify through the home.

 

As a parent, you are aware how important it is actually to go out with your kids, however it is incredibly important to possess some time to yourself. Drawing and enforcing this boundary lets you sustain your individuality while still being an outstanding parent.

 

When you initially have children, form good habits to make it your main priority to care for yourself. No matter your schedule or agenda, have a break and relax for a couple minutes when you can. You may feel great, along with your children will likely be happier because of this.

 

If children live at home, avoid smoking inside your home. Actually, it will be extremely beneficial to give up smoking altogether. Breathing secondhand smoke may be just like harmful as smoking. Smoking around your young ones can be extremely hazardous and cause many respiratory issues including asthma, bronchitis or pneumonia.

 

Hopefully, this article has provided you with many advice about how as a significantly better parent. You possibly will not usually have each of the answers, but it will be possible to obtain the resources you will need to help you those answers. babyspheres.com/weight-loss-after-pregnancy.html

Sun Group introduced the second generation of Digital Tag featuring a new battery Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours.

The wearable Digital TAG Video Name Tag SUN-SG824, just the size of a business card, that delivers your message through

professional video content. Attractive promotional in-store marketing that can be easily and frequently updated to meet YOUR

current needs. How do you capture the attention of TODAY’s customer?

Digital TAG is an eye-catching, hip and superior way of getting your message out to your clientele – in a way they are used to

seeing information: fast, attractive, state of the art. The content displayed on digital signage screens can range from simple text

and still images to full-motion video, with or without audio.

  

Digital TAG is used for many purposes:

Informational

Deliver a message through professional video content

In store promotion to Uplift Sales

Medium for Advertising by Third Parties

Enhanced Customer Experience - decrease perceived wait times!

Influencing Customer Behavior - direct customers to other areas of the store and increase dwelltime

Premium Corporate Give Aways

Gifts

Point of Sale Advertising

New Product Announcements

Retail Level

Employee Orientation

Training

Job Fairs

Conventions

Social events

 

Specifications:

• Display Screen Size: 2.4 inch

• Platforms: Standalone

• Formats: AVI and JPEG

• Plays MP3 and WMA Audio files

• Multimedia player with built in speakers

• Support Mini TF card Capacity up to 4GB (TF card not included)

• Resolution: 320 x 240 pixels

• Storage Capacity: 2 GB flash

• Build in Memory: 256MB flash memory

• Connectivity Input: Mini USB

• sgmonitor.com

• Size: 70W x 51H x 13.5D (mm)

• Weight: Around 69 gram

• Power Playback time: Average 12-15 hours

• Battery: Built-in Rechargeable Li-ion Battery

• Shirt-Clip (Magnet) doesn't ruin clothing

• Lanyard Holder Can be used as both horizontal and vertical

• USB Cable (Power Recharge/Content Change)

• USB AC Power Charger 110V-240V - DC 5V

 

Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad; [ˈpraʃskiː ˈɦrat]) is a castle complex in Prague, Czech Republic, dating from the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman emperors, and presidents of Czechoslovakia. The Bohemian Crown Jewels are kept within a hidden room inside it.

According to the Guinness Book of Records, Prague Castle is the largest ancient castle in the world,[1][2] occupying an area of almost 70,000 square metres (750,000 square feet), at about 570 metres (1,870 feet) in length and an average of about 130 metres (430 feet) wide. The castle is among the most visited tourist attractions in Prague attracting over 1.8 million visitors annually.[3]

History

Přemyslid fort

The history of the castle began in 870 when its first walled building, the Church of the Virgin Mary, was built. The Basilica of Saint George and the Basilica of St. Vitus were founded under the reign of Vratislaus I, Duke of Bohemia and his son St. Wenceslas in the first half of the 10th century.

The first convent in Bohemia was founded in the castle, next to the church of St. George. A Romanesque palace was erected here during the 12th century.

Medieval castle

King Ottokar II of Bohemia improved fortifications and rebuilt the royal palace for the purposes of representation and housing. In the 14th century, under the reign of Charles IV the royal palace was rebuilt in Gothic style and the castle fortifications were strengthened. In place of rotunda and basilica of St. Vitus began building of a vast Gothic church, that were completed almost six centuries later.

During the Hussite Wars and the following decades, the castle was not inhabited. In 1485, King Ladislaus II Jagello began to rebuild the castle. The massive Vladislav Hall (built by Benedikt Rejt) was added to the Royal Palace. New defence towers were also built on the north side of the castle.

A large fire in 1541 destroyed large parts of the castle. Under the Habsburgs, some new buildings in Renaissance style were added. Ferdinand I built the Belvedere as a summer palace for his wife Anne. Rudolph II used Prague Castle as his main residence. He founded the northern wing of the palace, with the Spanish Hall, where his precious art collections were exhibited.

The Second Defenestration of Prague in 1618 took place at the castle and began the Bohemian Revolt. During the subsequent wars, the Castle was damaged and dilapidated. Many works from the collection of Rudolph II were looted by Swedes in 1648, in the Battle of Prague (1648) which was the final act of the Thirty Years' War.

The last major rebuilding of the castle was carried out by Empress Maria Theresa in the second half of the 18th century. Following his abdication in 1848, and the succession of his nephew, Franz Joseph, to the throne, the former emperor, Ferdinand I, made Prague Castle his home.

Presidential residence

In 1918, the castle became the seat of the president of the new Czechoslovak Republic, T.G. Masaryk. The New Royal Palace and the gardens were renovated by Slovenian architect Jože Plečnik. In this period the St Vitus Cathedral was finished (on September 28, 1929). Renovations continued in 1936 under Plečnik's successor Pavel Janák.

On March 15, 1939, shortly after the Nazi Germany forced Czech President Emil Hacha (who suffered a heart attack during the negotiations) to hand his nation over to the Germans, Adolf Hitler spent a night in the Prague Castle, "proudly surveying his new possession."[4] During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia in World War II, Prague Castle became the headquarters of Reinhard Heydrich, the Reich Protector of Bohemia and Moravia. According to a popular rumor, he is said to have placed the Bohemian crown on his head; old legends say a usurper who places the crown on his head is doomed to die within a year.[5] Less than a year after assuming power, on May 27, 1942, Heydrich was attacked during Operation Anthropoid, by British-trained Slovak and Czech soldiers while on his way to the Castle, and died of his wounds - which became infected - a week later.[6] Klaus, his firstborn son, died the next year in a traffic accident, also in line with the legend.[7]

After the liberation of Czechoslovakia and the coup in 1948, the Castle housed the offices of the communist Czechoslovak government. After Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the castle became the seat of the Head of State of the new Czech Republic. Similar to what Masaryk did with Plečnik, president Václav Havel commissioned Bořek Šípek to be the architect of post-communism Prague Castle's necessary improvements, in particular of the facelift of the castle's gallery of paintings.

Architectural styles of Prague Castle

  

Main nave of the cathedral

The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. Prague Castle includes Gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. The castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle, based on the collection of Rudolph II. The Summer Shakespeare Festival regularly takes place in the courtyard of Burgrave Palace.

The neighborhood around Prague Castle is called Hradčany.

Churches

 

New Provost Residence

•Katedrála svatého Víta, Václava a Vojtěcha (St. Vitus Cathedral)

•Bazilika svatého Jiří (St. George's Basilica, Prague) and Klášter svatého Jiří (St. George's Convent, Prague), it is the oldest surviving church building within Prague Castle.

•Chrám Všech svatých (All Saints Church)

•Kaple svatého Kříže (Holy Cross Chapel (cs))

Palaces

•Starý královský palác (Old Royal Palace)

•Letohrádek královny Anny (Belvedere (Prague) (cs))

•Lobkovický palác (Lobkowicz Palace, not to be confused with the German embassy in Malá Strana)

•Nový královský palác (New Royal Palace (Prague) (cs))

Halls

•Sloupová síň (Column Hall (cs))

•Španělský sál (Spanish Hall)

•Rudolfova galerie (Rudolph's Gallery (cs))

•Rothmayerův sál (Rothmayer's Hall (cs))

•Vladislavský sál (Vladislav Hall)

Towers

•Bílá věž (White Tower (Prague Castle) (cs))

•Černá věž (Black Tower (Prague Castle) (cs))

•Daliborka (Dalibor Tower (cs))

•Prašná věž or Mihulka (Mihulka (cs))

Other buildings

•Zlatá ulička (Golden Lane)

•Staré purkrabství (Old Supreme Burgrave's House (cs) )

•Míčovna (Ball Game Hall (cs))

•Jízdárna Pražského hradu (Riding School (cs))

•Staré proboštství (Old Provost Residence (cs) )

•Nové proboštství (New Provost Residence (cs))

Gardens

Královská zahrada (Royal Garden of Prague Castle)

oOranžérie (Orangery (cs))

•Zahrada na terase Jízdárny (Riding School Terrace Garden (cs))

•Zahrada Na Baště (The Garden on the Bastion)

•Jižní zahrady (South Gardens)

oRajská zahrada (Paradise Garden (cs))

oZahrada Na Valech (Garden on the Ramparts (cs))

oHartigovská zahrada (The Hartig Garden (cs))

•Jelení příkop (Deer Moat (cs))

•Svatováclavská vinice (St. Wenceslas vineyard (cs))

•Produkční zahrady Pražského hradu (Horticultural Gardens (cs))

Structures

•Kohlova kašna (Kohl's Fountain)

•Matyášova brána (Matthias Gate)

•Obelisk (Obelisk)

•Socha svatého Jiří (Statue of Saint George)

In popular culture

Prague Castle is the location in the second level of Indiana Jones and the Emperor's Tomb video game.

It is also mentioned in the video game Assassin's Creed IV Black Flag as a hidden file found in a hacked computer at Abstergo Entertainment.

 

The Iconic Ford Power Live Event took Place at Brands Hatch to Celebrate The Blue Badged Ford Motor Company and their Iconic Cars From both the Past and The Present. From Escort Mexico's to Modern Ford Mustang GT'S there was Everything for the Ford Enthusiast to enjoy.

 

The Support Races Featured During the Day were also Full of Different Makes and Models of Ford Racing Cars From The Focus RS to the Ford Escort and the Iconic Sierra Cosworth and even the Iconic Enduro KA series was Present and with Drivers and Spectators Ready the Racing was about to begin.

 

Lets Turn to the Race Track and See what is the First Support Race to make it onto the Race track.

 

Champion Of Brands (Qualifying)

 

First up Champion of Brands and with Fast and High Speed Action from Thease Machines Lets See who took that all important People Position to Start the Race in P1.

 

In First Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Best Lap Time of 50.154 and a Top Speed of 86.70mph. Amazing work there Tom a truly Heroic and Brave Drive for Pole Position.

 

In Second Place was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Best Lap Time of 50.397 and a Top Speed of 86.28mph. Fantastic Work Niall Very Fast and Quick Driving.

 

In Third Place was (Colin Queen) in his Ray GR18 with a Best Lap Time of 50.399 and a Top Speed of 86.28mph. Another Incredible Driver in Colin Pushing Hard and Almost Taking Second Place from Niall. I think we are in for some Really Intense Racing but who will be Fast Enough to on Track to Take Victory?

 

Champion Of Brands (Race 1 Results)

 

After a Thrilling Battle that saw Tom Mills take Pole Position its time to find out who Won the Race and out of The Top Three Could Anyone else on the Grid Challenge them for a Spot on the Podium. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place and taking the Win was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Lap Time of 50.518 and an Average Speed of 77.40mph. Incredible work there Niall Beating back Tom to take Victory in the First Race and a Well Determined Drive to Secure it.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Lap Time of 50.706 and an Average Speed of 77.38mph. Amazing Drive there Tom Keeping up with Niall and a Fantastic Battle thought the entire Race too.

 

In Third Place was (Colin Queen) in his RAY GR18 with a Lap Time of 50.820 and an Average Speed of 77.32mph. A Great Victory for Third Place on the Podium Colin showing a Determined Drive and a lot of Bravery thought the Race.

 

What an Incredible First Race to Start out the Days Events and with Another Coming up Soon after is it possible for Another Competitor to take Victory and the Spotlight? Lets Take A Look.

 

Champion Of Brands (Race 2 Results)

 

Race 2 Up Next and The Final Time for Anyone Racing in Champion of Brands to Score Points and Take Victory in either First Second or Third Place. After a Thrilling End to Race 1 which Saw Tom Mills getting Beaten by Niall Murray it was time to see who could Once Again bring the Roar and Thunder Home for a Final Time.

 

In First Place was (Niall Murray) in his Van Diemen BD21 with a Lap Time of 50.584 and an Average Speed of 84.84mph. Another Incredible Drive from Niall to once again take The Final Pole Position for Champion of Brands. Brilliant Drive there Niall.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Mills) in his Spectrum KMR with a Lap Time of 50.606 and an Average Speed of 84.47mph. Another Well Deserved Second Place for Tom Showing Incredible Car Control and Bravery Pushing the Limits on Every Corner to Keep up with Niall. Fantastic Drive Tom.

 

In Third Place was (Lucan Romenek) in his Van Diemen JL13 with a Lap Time of 50.927 and an Average Speed of 83.92mph. Very Well Done there Lucan Fantastic to see a New Driver take a Step onto the Podium and Celebrate the Victory.

 

What an Exciting Opening Day here at Brands Hatch for Ford Power Live with Champion of Brands Providing some Well Deserved Winners in Niall Tom Lucan and Colin. Well Done to all other Drivers taking Part and Continuing to Improve and do what it is that you Love. Keep Up the Momentum and Never Give Up Hope of One Day Making it to the Top Step of the Podium.

 

Lets See what Track Action is Next Up onto the Circuit as the Action Continues to Hot Up.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Qualifying)

 

Clubman Sports Prototypes were up next and thease Mad Looking Machines are known for their Supreme Aerodynamics as well as Insane Straight Line Speed. each Driver will have to be on the ball and Keeping their Machine under Constant Control as they will be Powering round this 1,2 mile Indy Circuit at Speeds of at Least 90mph.

 

Lets Look to the Track to see who Qualified where and see who will be starting the Race on Pole.

 

In First Place and taking Pole Position was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Best Lap Time of 47.146 and a Top Speed of 92.23mph. Amazing Drive there Steve Very Fast and Committed for Pole Position.

 

In Second Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Best Lap Time of 47.784 and a Top Speed of 91.00mph. Well Deserved there Clive Pushing that Mallock for all its worth and taking Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Alex Champkin) Mallock MK27 Synergy with a Best Lap Time of 48.129 and a Top Speed of 90.35mph. Very Well Done there Alex Taking Third Place and a Spirited Drive with it.

 

A Very Fast and Fierce set of Drivers Ready to take on the Indy Circuit. Lets Get Right Down to the Action for Race 1.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 1 Results)

 

After A Thrilling Battle in Qualifying Between Steve Clive and Alex which of them will be Poised and Ready to Attack on the Race Track to either Defend maintain or even potentially Loose their Positions to the other Drivers. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 48.076 and an Average Speed of 76.87mph. Incredible Driving there Steve Taking the Victory and the Spoils that come with it Amazing Work from you and The Entire Team.

 

In Second Place was (Alex Champkin) in his Mallock MK27 Synergy with a Lap Time of 47.515 and an Average Speed of 76.84mph. Another Super Drive by Alex to move him up into Second Place on the Podium. Fantastic Work and Driving Ability.

 

In Third Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Lap Time of 47.802 and an Average Speed of 76.81mph. Very Well Done there Clive Super Driving and an All Round Great Victory for Third Place.

 

An Exciting Opening Race for Clubman's with Steve Dickens taking Both Qualifying and the First Race Win. Can he Do it again For Race 2 or will the likes of Alex and Clive Hunt Him down and take that Victory away Stay Tuned to find out as We Go Racing Once Again.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 2 Results)

 

In First Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 with a Lap Time of 47.475 and an Average Speed of 87.35mph.

 

In Second Place was (Pete Richings) in his Mallock MK30 PR with a Lap Time of 48.784 and an Average Speed of 86.84mph.

 

In Third Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 48.448 and an Average Speed of 86.63mph.

 

What an Exciting End to Race 2 with a New Winner in P2 being Pete Richings Well Done Pete Amazing work and a well deserved Podium Spot. Will Pete be able to Retain that Second Place or even Improve though as we head into the Final Round in Race 3.

 

Clubman Sports Prototype Championship (Race 3 Results)

 

In First Place was (Pete Richings) in his Mallock MK30PR with a Lap Time of 48.218 and a Top Speed of 88.27mph. Incredible Driving Pete taking the Top Step of the Podium and the Race Win. A Truly Excellent Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Steve Dickens) in his Mallock MK29 with a Lap Time of 47.986 and an Average Speed of 88.17mph. Very Well Done again Steve Putting in a lot of Hard work to Reach Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Clive Wood) in his Mallock MK23 With a Lap Time of 47.883 and an Average Speed of 88.08mph. Another Amazing P3 for Clive with a lot of Strong Determination Behind the Wheel.

 

What a Race Weekend for the Clubman's with Many Different Victories and Winners in Clive Steve Pete and Alex all Looking to Fight it it on Track and take Home those Valuable Championship Winning Points. Well Done to all other Competitors as well Keep Pushing Hard and Making Memories that will Last Forever.

 

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Qualifying)

 

Now it was time for the Creative Solutions Sports 2000's to hit the Track and After a Thunderous Performance by the Classic Clubman's Lets see what thease Mean Machines Have to Offer. With Speeds once again Reaching Nearly 92mph thease cars are Monsters and Driving and Controlling One is going to be Very Challenging with all that Break Horse Power.

 

Lets take a Look at Qualifying and see which Drivers made it to the Front end of the Grid for Race 1.

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was ( Neil Burroughs) in his Gunn TS12 with a Best Lap Time of 47.202 and a Top Speed of 92.12mph. Fantastic work there Neil Once Again showing the Skill and Commitment Needed for a Championship Winning Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoten) in his Gunn TS11 with a Best Lap Time of 47.400 and A Top Speed of 91.74mph. Great Work there Tom a Well Controlled and Well Balanced Car on the Race Track to Take P2 on the Grid.

 

In Third Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Best Lap Time of 47.474 and a Top Speed of 91.59mph. Well Done Josh Really Amazing work to take P3 on the Grid for The Race.

 

What a Fantastic Qualifying Session with Battles Happening all over the Field but Neil Tom and Josh have made it into the Top Three and so Lets Find out in Race 1 which of them will be Taking Home Victory.

 

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 1)

 

In First Place and Taking Victory was (Tom Stoten) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 48.471 and an Average Speed of 62.75mph. Amazing Work Tom taking yourself from P2 in Qualifying to P1 and The First Race Win, Incredible Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 48.457 and an average Speed of 62.69mph. Fantastic Work Michel and a Really Strong Drive to take P2 in the Race. A Fantastic Drive.

 

In Third Place was (Giles Billingsley) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 49.321 and an Average Speed of 62.31mph. Awesome Work there Giles a Brilliant Drive to Get P3 and the Last Spot on the Podium.

 

What an Exciting First Race with Tom Stoden being the First Race Winner in Sports 2000. A Big Congratulations to Michel and Giles too for some Heroic Driving and their Further P2 and P3 Finishes. Lets Find out what Race 2 Brings us Next.

  

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 2)

 

After a Really Hectic First Race which saw Tom Stoden Take P1 followed by Michel Gibbins and Giles Billingsley it was Time for Race 2. Lets see if Anyone Else can Challenge these Almighty Three Drivers at the Front of the Field.

 

In First Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.878 and an Average Speed of 70.46mph. Incredible Drive for Joshua Taking P1 from Tom Stoden and Claiming his First Race Win of the Weekend. Amazing work Josh.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoden) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 48.409 and an Average Speed of 70.35mph. Another Very Confident and Fast Drive by Tom to Achieve Second Place showing Just How Talented and Brave of a Driver Tom is Fantastic Performance Tom.

 

In Third Place was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 48.395 and an Average Speed of 70.32mph. Really Good Drive there Michel Fantastic Car Control and a lot of Fast Race Pace. Well Done.

 

What Another Epic Race to Witness with a New Winner on the Top Step of the Podium being Joshua Law a Well Deserved Win from a Very Talented Driver. Amazing work to both Tom and Michel for their Respective P2 and P3 Finishes. With Race 3 Up Next who will be Taking Home that Final Pole Position of the Weekend for Sports 2000.

  

Creative Funding Solutions Sports 2000 Championship (Race 3)

 

The Final Round of the Day for the Sports 2000's and with Joshua Law Defending his People Position at the Front Will anyone be able to dethrone our New Race Winner. Lets Find Out.

 

In First Place and Taking the Victory was (Michel Gibbins) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.479 and an Average Speed of 89.11mph. What a Drive Michel Taking P1 and the Final Race Win. Incredible Work.

 

In Second Place was (Tom Stoden) in his Gunn TS11 with a Lap Time of 47.680 and an Average Speed of 88.95mph. Amazing work Once Again Tom Proving Just How Competitive This Racing Series for Drivers is.

 

In Third Place was (Joshua Law) in his MCR S2 with a Lap Time of 47.938 and an Average Speed of 88.92mph. Great Work there Josh Really Good Drive in Taking P3.

 

What an Amazing Set of Races for the Sports 2000's with Many Different Victories for the likes of Joshua Tom Michel and Giles Drivers who Really Put the Pedal to the Metal when it really matters. Fantastic Work to all other Drivers on Track as well and Good Luck as the Season Continues.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Qualifying)

 

Next Up we take a Look to the Focus Cup Championship a Racing Series which Features the use of Ford Focus Road Cars Built to Racing Specifications. Thease Cars all Use The ZTEC 2.0 TDCI Engines and Have Proven to be Very Quick and also Very Twitchy when out Racing.

 

Lets Take a Look at Qualifying to see what Drivers Have made it to the Front of the Gird to start out the Days Racing.

 

In First Place taking Pole Position and The Fastest Lap was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 58.625 and a Top Speed of 74.17mph. Great Work there Simon Very Fast Driving while Keeping the Car on the Race Track to clock in a Perfect Lap of the Indy Circuit for P1.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 58.880 and a Top Speed of 73.85mph. Very Well Done there Scott with a Blisteringly Quick Lap To take P2 on the Grid for the First Race.

 

In Third Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Best Lap Time of 59.025 and a Top Speed of 73.67mph. Very Well Done Gary Pushing Hard and Making every Millie Second Count to take P3 on the grid.

 

Three Very Quick Drivers in Simon Scott and Gary all Looking to take that First Race Win. Which One of them Can Do it. Lets Find Out as Race 1 Begins.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Race 1)

 

In First Place and Taking Victory was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.725 and an Average Speed of 72.88mph. Congratulations Simon what an Epic Drive to Victory and a First Win of the Day for you. Very Well Done.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.776 and an Average Speed of 72.49mph. Amazing Work there Scott Well Driven and Controlled Thought the entire Race.

 

In Third Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.909 and an Average Speed of 72.39mph. Great Drive there Gary and A Brilliant Finish on the Podium in P3.

 

What an Exciting First Race for the Focus Cup showing Just How Fast thease Cars are and How Brave each Driver has to be to take Moves and Dive Bombs to work there way to the Front of the Grid. Lets See what Race 2 Brings and Can Simon Keep His Defence of P1.

 

Focus Cup Championship (Race 2)

 

In First Place was (Gary Mitchell) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 58.914 and an Average Speed of 68.78mph. Incredible Work there Gary taking P1 and The Race Win what a Fantastic start to the Weekend for Him.

 

In Second Place was (Richard Avis) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.506 and an Average Speed of 68.70mph. what a Drive there From Richard Fantastic to see a New Face in P2 on the Podium and a Well Deserved Victory in Second Place.

 

In Third Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.283 and an Average Speed of 68.61mph. Very Well Done there Scott Pushing Hard and Making sure to Stay in the Top Three. Fantastic Drive.

 

Another Incredible Race with a Different Driver in Richard Avis taking Second Place with an Incredible Drive and Sheer Speed and Talent. Congratulations to both Gary and Scott as well for their Fantastic Finishes Too.

 

Now for Race 3 and its the Final Time to see who will be taking Home that Last P1 Victory for the Focus Cup Championship.

  

Focus Cup Championship (Race 3)

 

In First Place was (Simon Rudd) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.228 and an Average Speed of 71.60mph. Amazing Work as Usual Scott putting in One Final Flying Run to Gain Another Race Victory. Great Drive.

 

In Second Place was (Scott Parkin) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.972 and an Average Speed of 70.23mph. Another Really Impressive Drive by Scott to take P2 in the Final Race for The Focus Cup.

 

In Third Place was (Rob Gaffney) in his Ford Focus 2.0 TDCi Zetec S with a Lap Time of 59.238 and an Average Speed of 70.19mph. Very Well Done Indeed Rob Finishing P3 and taking his First Podium of the Weekend. Phenomenal Drive.

 

What an Amazing End to the Focus Cup Championship at Brands Hatch with Many Different Victories for Simon Scott Rob and Gary who all Drove out of their Skin and showed Phenomenal Car Control and Ability to Drive. Fantastic Work to all the other Drivers too Keep Working Hard and Most Important of All Enjoy what you Love Doing.

 

MSVR Elise Trophy (Qualifying)

 

Next Up is the MSR Elise Trophy

with the Focus of this Race being on the Lotus Elise S1 S2 and S3 with Just One Qualifying Session and Just 1 Race This will be A Test of Will Power and Determination on the Track to see who can Take Victory.

 

First Lets look to Qualifying and See who will be Starting on the Front Row.

 

In First Place taking the Pole and Fastest Lap was (Maurizio Sciglio) in his Lotus Elise S2 with a Best Lap Time of 53.544 and a Top Speed of 81.21mph. Fantastic work there Maurizio to take P1 and start o the Front Row of the Grid.

 

In Second Place was (Jason Mcinulty) in his Lotus Elise S3 with a Best Lap Time of 53.914 and a Top Speed of 80.65mph. Very Well Done there Jason Putting in one Hell of a Quick Time to Gain P2 on the Grid.

 

In Third Place was (Simon Walsh) in his Lotus Elise S2 111R with a Best Lap Time of 54.076 and a Top Speed of 80.41mph. Incredible Drive from Simon to put Himself in P3.

 

With Three Very Quick Drivers in Maurizio Jason and Simon it was Time to see if Anyone Could challenge them and Win the Only Race of the Day for the Lotus Elise Trophy.

 

MSVR Elise Trophy (Race 1)

 

In First Place taking The Victory was (Jason Mcinulty) in his Lotus Elise S3 with a Lap Time of 54.638 and an Average Speed of 66.83mph. Fantastic Victory for Jason taking P1 and The Race Win for the Elise Trophy. Phenomenal Driving too.

 

In Second Place was (John Lamaster) in his Lotus Elise S2 135R with a Lap Time of 54.781 and an Average Speed of 66.75mph. Fantastic work John and So Great to see a New Face on the Podium Taking P2 what an Incredible Driver.

 

In Third Place was (David Alexander) in his Lotus Elise S1 with a Lap Time of 55.589 and an Average Speed of 66.62mph. Very Well Driven Dave Keeping an Eye out all over the Place and Bringing Home a Superb P3 Finish.

 

A Brilliant Race for the Elise Trophy and Victories for Jason John and David as well as Maurizio and Simon for their Heroic Efforts in Qualifying. Congratulations to Jason on the Race Win and Good Luck to all other Drivers in this Series.

 

Modified Ford Series (Qualifying Group A)

 

Now it was Time to head Back to the Blue Badged Ford Machines Once again as the Modified Ford Series Rolled out onto the Race Track with each car being Heavily Modified from their Road Counterparts. With Escort Cosworth's and RS200's Roaring and Ready to go it was Time to see what the First Group A set of Drivers could do in Qualifying.

 

Due to how large the Grids were and the Fact that both Group A and Group B Have Different Races I will only be putting up results from both Qualifying Sessions from Group A and Group B. I will Leave a Link Below each Qualifying Session so you can Get All the Race Result's and Action from the 4 Different Races.

  

Modified Ford Series (Qualifying Group A)

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and the Fastest Lap was (David Cockell) in his Ford Escort Cosworth with a Best Lap Time of 49.872 and a Top Speed of 87.19mph. Very Well Done David Keeping that Escort on the Track Must Have Taken some Practice no Doubt Amazing work on Getting Pole.

 

In Second Place was (Wayne Crabtree) in his Ford RS200 with a Best Lap Time of 51.121 and a Top Speed of 85.06mph. Very Fast Drive from Wayne to take P2 and a Very Solid Drive Thought.

 

In Third Place was (Michael Saunders) in his Ford Escort MK1 Mexico with a Best Lap Time of 51.129 and an Average Speed of 85.05mph. Very Well Driven by Michael Being Able to Keep up with Both Wayne and David Must Have Ben a Real Pain but what a Fantastic Achievement.

 

What a Fantastic Set of Legendary Drivers all Battle Hardened and Ready to take on the Might of the Indy Circuit. But there can Only be One Winner who do you Think will Win the First Race? Click the Link Below to get all of the Race Results from this Racing Series.

 

(Link to Group A Race Results)

 

www.tsl-timing.com/Event/213751

 

Modified Ford Series Group B (Qualifying)

 

Now it was Time for Group B to make a stance and see what their Modified Ford Racing Machines could do. with How Fast and Action Packed Group A Had Been During both The Races and Qualifying Group B was looking to be much the Same.

 

Lets Waste No Time in Finding out who Has Taken Pole Position for the First of 4 Races.

 

In First Place Taking Pole Position and The Fastest Lap was (Neil Jessop) in his Ford Escort MK2 with a Best Lap Time of 52.030 and a Top Speed of 83.57mph. Fantastic Work there Neil and a Really Quick Escort to match too. Very Well Done.

 

In Second Place was (James Harris) in his Ford Escort MK2 with a Best Lap Time of 53.928 and a Top Speed of 80.63mph. Amazing work there James Pushing Hard and Giving the Old Girl everything she has to offer.

 

In Third Place was (Malcom Harding) in his Ford Escort MK1 with a Best Lap Time of 54.892 and a Top Speed of 79.22mph. Awesome Drive there from Malcom Overcoming a lot of Pressure to put in an Incredible Lap for P3.

 

What an Amazing Line up for Group B with Plenty of Experienced Drivers who know their cars inside out. But who will be Brave Enough to challenge the Top Three Drivers for Victory. Find out for Yourself at the Link Below.

 

(Link to Group B Race Results)

 

www.tsl-timing.com/Event/213751

 

Enduro KA (Qualifying)

 

The Final Qualifying Session of the Day Had Come and its the Enduro KA'S. with all of the Cars on the Grid being Models of the Popular Ford KA made Between 1998-2009 thease Cars were Fun City cars that could get you from A to B with Ease. They were Also Build on a tight budget meaning that Handling Performance and Comfort were a Big Selling point of thease Brilliant little cars.

 

The Racing Versions seen here in the pictures however are built for Racing. they use different tyres but still the same Legendary 1.3 Dura Tec Engine found in their Road Going Counterparts.

 

Lets Take a look at Qualifying and see which KA and Driver made it to the top step of the podium.

 

Enduro KA (Qualifying)

 

In First Place taking the Pole and Fastest Lap was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.495 and a Top Speed of 68.48mph. Fantastic Work Adam and Martyn Really Pushing the Car for all its worth.

 

In Second Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.713 and a Top Speed of 68.25mph. Fantastic Drive there from Both Alex and Chris Claiming P2.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Best Lap Time of 1:03.921 and a Top Speed of 68.03mph. Very Well Done there Matt Great Drive and Awesome Car Control.

 

Three Very Quick and Determined Teams and with 4 Races to Race in this will be a Very Close and Tight Battles Between all Teams and Drivers. Skill and Talent will be crucial to survival and Who will be able to take the First Victory of Race 1. Lets Find Out.

 

Enduro KA (Race 1 Results)

 

In First Place Taking the Victory was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.688 and an Average Speed of 67.95mph. Congratulations Both Alex and Luke on a Superb Race Victory and Well Done to hold off the Pressure from the other Competitors.

 

In Second Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.416 and an Average Speed of 67.92mph. Very Well Done to both Adam and Martyn for that Amazing P2 Finish.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:03.664 and an Average Speed of 67.79mph. Incredible Work there Matt Amazing Drive and a Really Super Looking Car.

 

An Exciting Opening Race for the Enduro KA Series with Three Different Teams on the Podium in Alex Reade Motorsport Octane Junkies and Fat Boys Racing. Amazing work to all of you Now Lets see what Action Race 2 Brings and whether or not Alex Reade Motorsport can Hold onto that 1st Place.

 

Enduro KA (Race 2 Results)

 

In First Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.557 and an Average Speed of 67.94mph. Another Incredible Drive from both the likes of Alex and Luke to Keep their P1 Finish From the First Race. Amazing Work.

 

In Second Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.621 and an Average Speed of 67.90mph. Fantastic Work Once Again to the likes of Adam and Martyn Another Set of Drivers Keeping their Second Place Finish.

 

In Third Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:04.005 and an Average Speed of 67.39mph. Well Done once again Matt Perfect Driving and a Well Balanced Car out there.

 

Looks like the Top Three Remain the Same even After Two Races but will Race 3 Bring a New Twist to the Current Driver and Team Standings. Lets Find Out.

 

Enduro KA (Race 3 Results)

 

In First Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.849 and an Average Speed of 67.57mph. Amazing Work there Adam and Martyn managing to topple the likes of Alex and Luke to Earn P1.

 

In Second Place was (Fat Boys Racing Matt Pinny) with a Lap Time of 1:03.584 and an Average Speed of 67.51mph. Well Done there Matt Improving up to P2 and Taking Home a Well Deserved Finish in the Standings for Race 3.

 

In Third Place was (Alex Reade Motorsport's Luke Reade and Chris Reade) with a Lap Time of 1:03.606 and an Average Speed of 67.44mph. Very Good Come Back Drive for Both Luke and Ale to Finish Third Great Driving.

 

Many Twists and Turns Have Benn brought into Race 3 with the Top Three Drivers now being Shuffled Around the Gird into different Positions. With One More Race to Go who will be The Last Driver of the Day on the Top Step of the Podium.

 

Enduro KA (Race 4 Results)

 

In First Place was (Octane Junkies Adam Smith and Martyn Smith) with a Lap Time of 1:03.442 and an Average Speed of 67.82mph. An Amazing Final Win for the Day to Octane Junkies Adam and Martyn Smith Congratulations and Very Well Driven.

 

In Second Place was (Piston Heads Peter Dignan) with a Lap Time of 1:03.781 and an Average Speed of 67.54mph. Incredible work there Peter Getting P2 and Standing on the Podium and Incredible Achievement.

 

In Third Place was (IP Racing Oliver Wilmot and Scott Parkin) with a Lap Time of 1:03.710 and an Average Speed of 67.47mph. Very Well Done to both Scott and Oliver on that Fantastic P3 Achievement. Something Very Special to Remember for both of you.

 

And With that The Days Racing at Brands Hatches Ford Power Live comes to an End and what an Incredible Array of Both Cars Teams and Drivers on Display Today. A Big Congratulations to the likes of Adam Martyn Luke Chris Peter Matt Oliver and Scott for their Incredible Achievements and All Other Drivers Keeping the World Of Motorsport Alive and Well.

 

Keep Working Hard everyone Else. Your Time Will Come.

 

See You All Again Next Year!!!!

It feels like the ground is breathing and the air has hands, like everything is moving except me, like I am the only thing solid, like it is the rest of the world that is dizzy.

average thrift store dress transformed

blogged here

opened 1859.

On an average day, about 280,000 travellers frequent the station,[4] making it the fifth busiest station in Germany.

 

The old station building (which had been only slightly damaged during the war and temporarily repaired) was demolished in 1955. On 23 September 1957, the new station hall with its shell-shaped roof was opened to the design of the architects Schmitt and Schneider.

 

Im000025.Jpg

The average position of the mass of this system of objects is going to be pretty close to the fire extinguisher, as it by far has the most inertia. But the fact that the laptop is so far away from it will give the laptop some "power" to move the center of mass (cm) towards it. Our equation must account for both distance and size of mass

A lot of women wonder about their breast size. Are their breasts big enough? Do they at least have an average breast size? How big are the average breasts? Should they increase their breast size?

www.breastoptions.com/average-breast-size.html

This supermarket is a pretty average '90s-styled building; though more picturesque than some I've seen. It's also one of the few Copps locations in Madison that didn't start off as a Kohl's food store.

 

Ten years ago, this location and a sole east-side store were the only local presence the Copps chain had. Somewhat quickly, that changed: A&P decided in 2003 that they didn't want to do business in the upper midwest any more, and their Wisconsin Kohl's stores were promptly put on the block. Roundys of Milwaukee leapt at the chance and quadrupled their local presence in the process, acquiring seven of the stores in a shopping spree and reopening six under the Copps banner.

 

Copps also inherited some of the Kohl's employees...though by no means all of them, and the stores shut down while any who tagged along were obligated to re-apply for their old jobs from scratch. Thanks to these shenanigans, one thing they didn't inherit was Kohl's UFCW Local 1444 contract...pioneering union-busting years before the ruling class made it fashionable.

 

Edit: Closed in 2017.

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